Elsword: The Dark World
by Katar Vamir
Summary: Elsword saves the day. Everyone is happy. But not here. Things go a little differently in this universe. Things go wrong, and take a dark turn. What will happen when darkness takes over the characters you've come to know and love? Note: This story includes most of the characters, and all of the playable characters
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Elsword

"There's no point in trying to run, Banthus. You can't escape from the three of us."

Rena, Aisha, and himself had tracked down Banthus after having received word that he had planned something big. He generally wasn't the type to attempt crimes such as this, so it immediately caught Elsword's attention.

"Heh. Yes, I'm aware of that. There's no way that I could escape from you on my own. Fortunately for me..." Two other bandits jumped out from behind the bushes, attacking Rena and Aisha "... I'm not alone!"

With Elsword distracted, Banthus sprinted away with the El, leaving the three heroes. Seeing this out of the corner of his eye, Elsword decided to give chase.

"He's getting away! After him!"

"Elsword, wait!" Aisha cried from behind him as he started to sprint after Banthus.

Hearing the voice of his friend, he stopped in hesitation, before deciding to go back to help them. He quickly ran towards the bandit attacking Aisha, as she had called after him, and she had no way of defending herself at that short of a range. With one swing of his blade, he knocked the bandit off his feet, and with another, finished him. He turned to help Rena, but quickly saw that she didn't need any, as she had already finished the bandit attacking her.

"Now on to Banthus, before he gets away!" He ran off again, and the other two followed soon behind.

Rena

The bastard was faster than he looked. Banthus, she meant. Elsword, on the other hand, not so much. It wasn't long after they gave chase that he had lost Banthus, and requested that Rena tracked him. It was a simple enough task for her, as her training had included extensive tracking lessons, but it was because of how easy the task was, and how often Elsword made use of her skills that caused her frustration. She sighed.

"Fine, but promise me that after this, you'll at least _try_ to pick this up?"

Elsword agreed, and she began tracking Banthus' tracks, which wasn't hard, as he was big and heavy, leaving deep footprints to follow. However, it wasn't long before the ground became harder, and the footprints became harder to find. It seemed like either Banthus knew the area well, or he had planned his escape in advance, which seemed unlikely to Rena as they caught him seemingly off guard.

It wasn't long after that before the footprints along with any other signs of his path disappeared entirely. However, Rena could tell what general direction he was moving in. He was headed to Ruben Village, and she knew just who to talk to about Banthus. Apparently, so did Elsword as he had cut off Rena when she began to talk to him.

"Lowe! Did Banthus just pass by?"Rena punched him in the arm, giving him a glare as if to say 'Let me handle this next time.'

"Banthus? I saw him go by here not long ago. Seemed to be in a hurry. Why? Did something happen?"

"We don't have time for thi- Wah!" Rena pushed Elsword out of the way and picked up where he left off.

"He stole the El Shard and ran off with it. Do you know where he might've gone?" She asked politely with a smile, as if oblivious to the fact that she had just pushed her friend out of the way.

"The El Shard!" he replied with shock, "By the El Lady! I never thought Banthus would have _ever_ gone that far! In that case, we've seen some bandits nearby recently. He may have gone there. This is big! I'll get the whole of Ruben Village chasing after him! He _will_ pay for what he's done!"

Aisha

It had to be _him_. It _**had**_ to be him. If Elsword hadn't just _had_ to have his grand entrance, she could have already taken Banthus down. But no. Elsword just _had_ to have his way. Never mind that he had a witch and a ranger on his side, he had to openly announce his arrival to half of Elrios.

She didn't know why she stuck around him. It certainly wasn't out of pity. If anything, it was probably out of boredom. There were no masters she could learn from, and it seemed like trouble followed him, so it would be a good way to entertain herself for a while. And while she enjoyed watching him screw up the first few times, it became old fast. _Very_ fast.

On their way to Noah's lake, the site where the bandits were reported, she had asked Rena why it was that she stuck around Elsword when she could be far more successful on her own.

"Why? That's easy! Because he turns every little task into an adventure. Sure, we have our by-the-book methods that are much faster, but what does it matter as long as the job gets done?"

Aisha understood why she would say this. As an elven ranger, she's supposed to be serious and strictly by-the-books, so any escape from that mundane method would be a welcomed break. As for Aisha, though, she had to learn magic on her own. Every day was an adventure when the only teacher you had to control a volatile power was a book. He pondering came to a halt as they reached Noah's Lake.

Ain

He had awoken knowing his purpose, but with no memories of the past. He knew why this was. The Goddess had created him for this purpose. This purpose that he could not take his mind off of. He was to assist a boy known as 'Elsword' in the events to come, and to protect the El.

It was a strange feeling knowing about the world when he did not learn about it, and knowing how to use a weapon he had never held before. All he knew was his purpose and how to accomplish it.

It was then that he was able to see for the first time this world that he was supposed to be protecting. It was a blur, but he understood what he was seeing. The green blur below with was the ground. The blue blur above him was the sky. The white blurs coming from a part of the blue blur that was partly in the green blur was the reflection of the sun off of a lake. However, he could not tell which lake it was.

As if by instinct, he opened a 'window' of sorts and was able to clearly see the world before him. Below was a red-haired boy carrying a sword that perhaps was a bit too large for him. His name was 'Elsword.' Following behind him were his two friends. Aisha was the one with the purple hair, and Rena was the elf with the blonde hair. He could make out the lake to be a place called 'Noah's Lake.' Near the lake were some bandits being lead by a man named 'Banthus.'

How he knew all of this, he didn't know, and it didn't particularly bother him. He knew what he was going to have to do in the near future. He would have to protect the 'Elsword' boy in case any bandits got the jump on him. He would change the boy's memory so that he remembered him as a friend, and change it again once he had completed his work. This is how it had always worked, he thought as if he'd been alive for a long time.

He began to wonder if this was truly his first time being 'alive.'

Raven

The whirring of machines could be heard all around him. He only had vague memories of what had just happened before he blacked out. He was from Velder. He led the Crow mercenary knights. He was betrayed and sent to prison. His fiancée broke him out. And then...

And then Velder knights had found and slaughtered all of his knights and fiancée, knocking him out. He wasn't sure where he was. It looked like a ship. Turning his head, he saw wires attached to an arm. An arm that was attached to _him_. He tried to move his arm, only to find the nasod arm moved instead.

Turning his head the other way, he still held his sword in his other hand. He wasn't sure where or why he was here, but he could feel some sense of purpose that he hadn't had before. Something different than his previous purpose. He wanted to destroy all of Velder. As these thoughts crossed his mind, he saw a figure approach the pod he was in.

"Well, well. Seems the Raven has awoken."

Add

His research was finally complete. He had finished building his nasod dynamos. Now, he would be able to take revenge on Nasod Ruler, the group who had killed his parents. After years of scavenging what he could from the surrounding area, he was finally ready to test the effectiveness of his new weapon.

"Kek. There's nothing left to research here. Guess I'll have to go and find more... research subjects... Kekeke!"

He had remembered a book that he had read recently. It made reference to the last nasod produced. A wife for the Nasod King. It was referred to as Project Eve, in the palace of the king. Allegedly, it was never activated, but he hoped that it was, to provide a test subject for his Dynamos. Either way, he was going to head to Altera to find this... Eve.

Elesis

She had traveled almost all over Elrios, and hadn't seen her brother in a long time. In her journey, she had sought to become a better swordswoman, and had succeeded greatly. Now, however, she wanted to relax a bit and complete her training with her brother. The last she had heard, he was hanging out in Ruben Village, far from where she was now.

"Ruben, huh? It'll be a nice change of scenery, at least. It's a nice and peaceful place, if I remember correctly. It'll be nice to relax some and hang out with Elsword some. I wonder if he's made any friends...?"

When she had left, she was Elswords only friend. She wondered what kind of people would be supporting him in the several years since she had left. She couldn't wait to see him again, and hoped that he had somehow gotten better than her. She knew it wouldn't be so, but she couldn't help but hope. That same night, she set out from the ash lands of Lanox to meet her brother in the rolling hills of Ruben, with little knowledge of the events that would soon follow.

Author's comments_

Me: So you're going to do thi-

Ain: no

Me:

Ain:

Me: Okay, then how ab-

Raven: no

Me:

Raven:

Me: Now we-

Add: no

Me: yes

Add: no

Me: fine. Then how about...

Elesis:

Me: Um, Elesis?

Elesis:

Me:

Elesis: *never showed up*

Me: Well, okay then


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Rena

They had arrived at the normally peaceful Noah's Lake. To be more precise, Elsword had arrived there several minutes ago, running off as soon as it was in sight. The girls, on the other hand, had decided to not waste their energy running and continue walking. Neither was surprised to find that Elsword had decided to take on the whole camp at once, and was hopelessly outnumbered. Sighing, they readied their weapons.

Rena placed an arrow on the bow string, and took in a breath as she pulled the string back. A green energy began to surround the arrow as she took a careful aim at her target. Then, the released arrow left an expanding trail of the green energy behind it as it traveled through the first bandit and into the second, taking them both out. This was an ability she had come up with, Rail Stinger.

Elsword

The arrow took out two of the bandits at his side, giving him an opportunity to strike down the remaining ones around him. He'd have to admit, he might have been screwed had it not been for Rena's help. Of course, he'd never tell her that. This would be his own little secret.

"You're late! I could've taken out the whole bunch of them on my own!"

"You seemed to be doing _so_ well with that. After all, you didn't seem to be having _any_ trouble at all with just those eight." The sarcasm was strong with Rena.

"Well, you saw right! No trouble with them at all! Piece of cake!" A grin came across Elsword's face.

"Jeez, Elsword. You should just accept the help of the people who are around you, and you wouldn't have to wait for people to come and save you!"Aisha huffed and puffed out her cheeks slightly, folding her arms and turning her head away.

"Hey, I never asked for your help, I just let you guys stick around! After all, gets a little boring when no one's around to see all the awesome things you do!" Elsword was just being Elsword, and didn't take anything either of them said seriously. "Besides, there are more over there! Let's go!" He took off towards them, leaving the two on their own again.

"Eh..."

"Elsword, you dummy..."

Aisha

Thanks to Elsword, once again, things were going to be more difficult. Chances are, Banthus was already warned and making an escape, but with any luck they'd find a clue as to his new whereabouts. And of course, it seemed that Elsword wasn't capable of defending himself.

"Elsword, behind you! Elsword, on your left! Elsword, look out!"

Aisha took it upon herself to cover him when he failed to check his surroundings. Rena was off in another part of the camp, so it was just the two of them.

Having defeated the bandits in the area, Aisha let out a sigh.

"Elsword, you really need to be more careful. You never know when someone might sneak up on you, and I might not see it."

"Oh?" Elsword saw a golden opportunity, and took it with no hesitation at all. "Do you really care about me that much? Why, if that's the case, all you had to do was ask me out~"

Aisha's face turned so red that it was practically giving off its own light, visible from hundreds of miles away. That was not what she meant. _That was not what she meant._ _ **That was not what she meant at all!**_

"Y-y..." she then swung her staff full force, not hesitating to use a bit of magic as well. "ELSWORD, YOU DUMBASS!" He went flying several dozen yards, landing on his face and sliding another several. "That's not what I meant and you know it!"

He sat up and shook his head a bit before cleaning his ear with his finger.

"Sorry, could you say that again? I couldn't quite make that out."

She rose up her staff again, fully prepared to strike him.

"Ah, on second thought, I think I remember what you said, haha..."

She folded her arms and huffed her face, turning away.

Ain

He couldn't help but chuckle. Elsword had just walked into that, and probably had to know he was doing it. He then took notice of a note on one of the fallen bandits. It made mentions of long-term plans to get the shard. He figured the party should know about it.

He swung his pendulum in front of Aisha, and materialized once he was integrated into her memory. According to her, he was one of her oldest friends. He did the same to Elsword, then tapped Aisha's shoulder.

"Aisha, look over there. I think there's something near that bandit."

"Ain! When did you get here?"Aisha looked pleasantly surprised. That means that his ability worked.

"Oh, I just heard a loud conundrum and assumed it was Elsword. Seems I was right."

She sighed. "Unfortunately. I wish that wasn't the case... Oh! The paper!" She then ran over to the note, picked it up, and read it. "Oh! This is big! Elsword, we should get Rena and head back to Lowe!"

Ain had already erased himself from their memories. This is how he would have to work. Point them in the right direction, then disappear. This was... wait. Something's not right. He's vanishing, and being completely erased.

"W-what? What's happening? Why is this... This can't be... I still need to complete my..."

He had vanished.

Add

They worked. _They actually worked!_ The years he had spent developing his nasods have payed off! Their different modes all worked, and they served as great weapons. Perhaps it was time to see just how far he could he could take this technology...

Author's comments

Eve: Ooh!

Me: no

Eve: Me!

Me: no

Eve: Put me in this scene!

Me: Eve, no

Eve: I'd be great here!

Me: But you're not part of the story yet

Eve: *Slowly rises between me and computer*

Me: no

Eve: *raises hand*

Me: no

Eve: *jumps*

Me: Eve no

Eve: MEEEEEEEEE PICK MEEEEEEEEEEE


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Rena

Elsword had burst into the room. "Lowe! We found something interesting!"

Aisha had an annoyed look on her face. "Excuse me? _I_ _'_ _m_ the one who found it, not you!"

"Why you little-"

"L-little?!" Aisha became very aware of her chest size. "You're the one who's short!

Rena thought it would be appropriate for her to step in. "Now, now, let's all get along here..." She was being completely ignored.

"Maybe if you ate better, you wouldn't be so short!"

"Excuse me? Maybe you should take your own advice! You're noticeably lacking in the-"

Rena would not put up with this any longer. "Shut it, both of you! One more word, and I throw the both of you out, you hear me?"

They both nodded and gulped in unison. An angry Rena was something nobody wanted to see.

"Now then, the note. It mentioned that Banthus had this planned for quite some time. I couldn't prove it, but it seems like he had every one of our moves planned."

"This note... it wasn't written by Banthus. This isn't his handwriting. These seem to be more of instructions for him."

"Instructions...? But who could plan things this carefully?"

"It doesn't say, but it _does_ make reference to a Phoru by the name of William. Chances are, Banthus plans to control him using the El."

"Then that settles it. We need to reach William before Banthus does."

Elsword

The group may have already headed out to the White Mist Swamp, where William was known to be, but that didn't mean Elsword had to skip a meal. As they walked, he pulled several kinds of meat out of his bag and ate them. Aisha spoke abruptly.

"You know, Elsword, if you only eat the things you like, you'll never really grow."

"This again? Look. Talk to me about a proper diet when you can prove that it works. I mean, you eat a balanced diet, and you're still small yourself!" Somethimes she just made it too easy to pick on her based on her size. It's not that he didn't consider her to be pretty, or that he genuinely thought she was abnormally small, it was just fun to tease her because she got so easily worked up over it.

"S-small?! I-" He rests his case.

"I mean, really. Are you sure you're even a girl? You're flat as a board!" Aisha's anger was not well hidden. It was so obvious, in fact, that she was literally on fire.

"Maybe you should try eating meat. After all, you need it to grow big and strong!" That was apparently the last straw. As he finished the sentence, she lit the meat he was holding on fire, and kept walking like nothing had happened. The meat was promptly dropped and stepped on.

To make matters worse, Rena, who had been walking behind them, smacked the back side of his head as she walked by, also pretending that nothing had happened. That is, until she stopped, turned her head, and told him softly so as to not let Aisha hear: "Apologize. Now."

He let out a sigh, and ran back up to Aisha.

"Look, um... about what I said..."

"What? Not get enough fire?" She had lit herself on fire to seem more intimidating, which, though he'd never say it to her face, worked pretty well. It was also clear that she had a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

"Um! N-no, I... I wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have said that."

"Eh?" The fire immediately turned to ice, and she looked hopelessly confused. "Elsword... apologized... to me... this... this is a dream... yeah, that's it! It's just a dream! He would never do that... so I just need to pinch myself and..."

"Um, Aisha?"

"...it's not a dream."

Aisha

She couldn't help but blush a little when she realized she wasn't in a dream. Why, though, she couldn't figure out. Maybe she just felt special because she was the only person in all of Elrios that Elsword had apologized to. Yeah, that must be it.

That feeling didn't last long, as shortly thereafter, Rena burst out laughing behind them. It was bad, too. As in, she literally fell onto the grass she was laughing so hard. She suddenly realized what had happened. Based on the expression on Elsword's face, he had, too. Rena had set up the whole thing.

"Rena, you jerk!" She stomped over to her in an attempt to be intimidating, but, this being Aisha, wasn't very successful. Rena did her best to stop laughing as she stormed up to her, only to start back up again when she grabbed her collar and pulled her up.

"Y-you should have seen you face! Hahahaha! Priceless!" The rest was an incoherent mess of laughing and attempted speech.

This was a strange occurrence. Never had anyone ever known Rena to pull a joke before, let along something like this. Rena was Ms. Serious. Always business, and while she laughed at other people's jokes, she never made any of her own. Aisha suspected she would never see Rena pull something like this again.

Raven

"So then, 'Raven,' What's your name?"

"...Raven..."

"Yes, I realize that's what you prefer to be called, but what's your _real_ name? Who's the person behind all of this?"

"I... I don't understand. I've never been anyone other than Raven."

"Hmpf. Suit yourself, then. Do you know where you are, and why you're here?"

"No idea."

"You're on a battleship destined for Hamel."

"Hamel...?" The name sounded familiar to him, but he couldn't figure out why.

"You're going to help us finish taking the city and claiming Senace for our own."

"Senace...?" Another familiar name.

"That's right. You are our secret weapon. With you, we will claim this place and no-one will be able to stop us. Not even that Red-Haired Brat!"

"Hold up. Who is 'we?' Who exactly am I helping?"

"Oh dear, and we were told that you don't ask questions. You don't need to know that yet, and for second, you're not _helping_ us, we're making you work _for_ us. Not that you'll remember this. Begin the process."

Elesis

Elesis had arrived in Hamel. On the way, she had picked up two others who happened to be headed in the same general direction as her. However, when they approached the city gates, there were guards who began running to surround them, lead by Helputt, the captain of the guard under whom Elesis had once trained.

"Helputt, it's me, Elesis! Remember me? You trained me when I first passed through!"

"Silence, fool! You dare show up here again after the crimes you've committed? I'll personally see to it that you rot in the Hamel dungeons for the rest of your miserable life!"

"What? What crimes? What are you talking about? I've never commit a crime in my life!" She genuinely had no idea what he was talking about.

"Playing ignorant won't save you this time, Red-Haired Assassin! Seize them!"

"Assassin?! I'm one of the Red Knights sworn to protect Elrios! I'm not your enemy!"

"As if you could be called a knight! You'll find that even your silver tongue can't convince us anymore. Silence her."

One of the guards tied a rope around her mouth, making her unable to speak. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that they had done the same to the others, even though they've never been to Hamel as far as she knew. She couldn't help but think "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I have no idea why they're acting this way. I'm so sorry..."

Lu

There had been unrest in the Demon Kingdom for some time, but things were starting to grow beyond control since the Demon General Scar had gone missing. With this, the people began to suspect the royal court, and attempted to revolt and kill the queen.

Ciel

Most days were the same for Ciel. Lu, brush your teeth. Lu, be careful, they're not as strong as you. Lu, eat less sweets. But today, things were different. Sure, revolutions happened before, but none of them ever got very far, and certainly were never successful. However, the people of the kingdom were on the palace doorsteps of the palace, and would come for Lu.

"Lu, it's time to go."

"Aw, come on! It's only a couple hundred demons! We can totally take 'em!"

"Normally I'd agree with you, but something's off this time. I can't explain it, but it seems like they're not fighting to overthrow the kingdom."

"And what? They're fighting for Scar? He disappeared all on his own!"

"You know that, and I know that, but those demons out there? They don't. They think you're responsible. Either that, or they're under his control."

"But I don't want to leave! I like this palace!"

"Lu, we'll be back later. After the dust settles, we can come back and explain what happened."

"But where will we go? Everyone in the demon world will recognize us!"

"Lu, I've lived in your world for many years, now. I think it's time for you to visit mine."

Author's comments_

Rena: So you wanted to advance the plot, right?

Me: Well, yeah. That is kind of the point of a story.

Rena: Well, too bad lol

Me: Wait, what?

Me: Rena

Me: Rena no

Me: RENA NO

Me: STAHP

Me: NO RENA NO PLZ STAHP PLOT NEEDS TO HAPPEN NO STAHP

Me: Never mind

Rena: lol


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Aisha

The fumes given off by the White Mist Swamp tended to make people delusional. How did she know this? Because Elsword looked kind of hot, and she was absolutely certain that was definitely NOT her opinion of him. She would just have to bear with it until they finished the mission and she could get as far away from him as possible. She would never have to look at him or his stupid face ever again, if she so chose.

The Phorus in the forest were unusually aggressive, and they constantly had to fight them off. This definitely had to be Banthus' doing. Chances are, he had been attacking them, and they saw the group as part of Banthus' gang. Or worse, Banthus had reached William before them and possibly killed him. She assumed it was a him. William sounded like a man's name to her.

Rena seemed to be effected by the fumes as well, as she was still laughing, and Rena NEVER laughed that long about ANYTHING. Elsword... well... Elsword was probably too stupid to be effected by the fumes of the swamp. He was, as they say, not the sharpest tool in the shed. And if he was, well, he didn't show it very often. Or ever. Then he stopped.

"Do you hear that?"

Maybe he _was_ affected after all.

"I hear it too."

Or maybe she was the only one affected.

"Hear what? I don't hear anything."

"I think it came from that way!" Elsword pointed and, as usual, took off on his own.

"Hey, wait a minute, Elsword!" She had no idea what was going on, and would like to know what they're running after before she runs to her death.

"It's like my sister says, 'If you have time to talk, you have time to get moving!'"

"Eh... They siblings really _do_ think the same..." She decided to give up on reason and just follow him.

Rena

They had arrived in a clearing, with a giant Phoru before them, and various things all over the place being dropped by smaller Phorus. She recognized the big one as William, the ancient guardian of the forest. William had never done anything to harm the humans before, so why now? It became clear when she saw his eyes. There was something off. She couldn't explain it, but she somehow knew that it was being controlled. Probably by Banthus.

It was at that moment Elsword decided to run out and attack him.

"Elsword, wait... oh never mind" She readied her bow and prepared to attack.

"Finally, someone else sees it!" Aisha was preparing to attack as well.

"Eh, I can't really say this is surprising. His sister was like this too." She drew back her bow string, waiting for Elsword to make the first strike.

"Wait, you know Elesis too?"

"Well, yeah. She passed through my village while she was traveling the world to get better. How do you know her?"

"We went through basic training together. I don't really know if she remembers me at all, given that she was top of the class, and I was near the bottom."

"Aren't there only, like, eight people in a class in Ruben?"

"S-shut up! I didn't have any magical training back then!"

You don't have any now, Rena thought to herself.

Their conversation conveniently ended as Elsword made the first strike against William. Rena fired an arrow and Aisha launched a fireball. It would be just another enemy to defeat. Except that it wasn't. None of their attacks seemed to do anything.

"W...what just... happened...?"

"I've heard of the power of the holy beasts, but this... this is incredible..."

Elsword was hit by William and sent flying back, breaking a tree as he hit it.

"What's going on? My attacks aren't doing anything to it!"

"Rena says this is one of the... holy beasts... I think it was."

"For real? This is one of the holy beasts? Guess that explains it."

"Am I the only one here who hasn't heard of these things before?"

"Look, Right now, we need to figure out how to defeat it. What likely happened is Banthus used the El to get it to do what he wanted."

"So we need to hit it really hard in the head?"

Aisha looked at him like he was stupid. "No, you idiot! That's going to have the same effectiveness as what we just tried!"

"No, I think he's on to something. If we hit it hard enough, it might clear the El's influence."

"You're not serious." She looked at the both of them. "You're... you're serious, aren't you?"

"Well, unless you know a spell that can counter the El, I think that's what we'll have to try. Besides, we don't have any better ideas."

"Okay, but even if we could get near it, we'd have to find a way to get to the top, and be able to hit it hard enough before it takes us out!"

"Hmm... Aisha, can you cast wind magics?"

"What do I look like, a beginner? Of course I can!"

Yes, Rena and Elsword both thought at the same time, you do.

"Then launch Elsword as high as you can, and he'll drop down and be able to hit it hard enough to stop the El's influence."

"And what's your part?"

"...I um... I came up with the plan!"

"...right. Okay. Elsword, you ready?"

"Umm, as ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

Elsword

This was happening. This was _actually_ happening. He was going to be launched an unknown distance, probably a couple hundred feet, and allowed to drop to the ground, hopefully hitting William. The entire and only plan to defeat William rested on him, who had flunked out of basic training because of how terrible his aim was, and his ability to aim. Great plan, Rena.

He readied himself, and Aisha sent him into the air. He'd have to admit, it was a pretty great view. He could see everything from the El Tree all the way to Altera! Heights aren't so bad, he thought. That is, until he started falling. Suddenly, he remembered why he hated heights in the first place. It wasn't the actual height that he was afraid of. It was falling from them.

He had plenty of time to think as he tumbled towards Elrios, as time seemingly slowed down. I know this is for the greater good, but really? Why did I agree to this? Here I am, falling towards the ground, probably towards my death, as well, to defeat a single enemy. I'm getting pretty close. I should probably ready my sword.

He swung his sword full force, hitting its head and sending it to the ground. He immediately realized that this plan had failed to take into account basic physics. He, being the significantly lighter object, went flying the other direction, breaking a tree as he landed.

Like a pendulum, he thought. _A pendulum._ Why did that seem so familiar? Didn't he know someone who used one? What was his name? Bane? Cane? Cain? ...Ain? ... _Ain_. It was Ain. Who was Ain, and why couldn't he remember?

Ain

He had come back. Why had he come back? Was it the work of the Goddess, or... he saw Elsword. He had remembered him, and that's what had saved him. There was then a noticeable flaw in his existence. To complete his mission, he had to erase himself from people's memories, but if he did, he would disappear. He would have to try again, and he would have to be careful. One wrong move, and he could disappear forever, and never return.

Add

"Keke. I could spend a _lifetime_ researching the Nasods found in this place! But... no... I mustn't loose track. I will find the Nasod Queen and use her as my research subject, as well. Now, if I were a secret project designed to keep the Nasods alive, where would I be... Oh, I know! The core! What better place to keep a secret project than in the heart of the largest Nasod ever created! Kekeke."

He had arrived in Altera a few days ago, and had already spent time researching the rust-buckets of the remains of the Nasods to find ways to improve his Dynamos. They had given him an idea. He could possibly use the technology to manipulate time. He could use it to travel through time itself. He could at last return to a time when he was happy. But for now, he would have to find the Queen and use her to develop the technology.

Raven

"Raven, we've arrived at Hamel. Prepare yourself."

"Where will I be stationed? The front lines? The flank?"

"You'll be guarding the portal."

"You prepare me with this Nasod arm and all this training and you decide to make me a guard?"

"Not just a guard. You'll also be commanding the army attacking the city."

"Commanding...? Doesn't that make me a higher rank than you?"

"Well, if it were me, I'd use you as a soldier, as you expected. However, these orders, including the promotion, come directly from the general. As such, I will be staying with you to make sure things go well."

"So then, the general needs my skill, but doesn't fully trust me, so he's assigning a guard dog to make sure I don't betray him, right?"

"You're clever, Raven. He has not stated his intentions to me, but that is not dissimilar to me beliefs. I expect that you will not disobey the general's orders, I presume?"

"Of course not. How else would I gain his trust?"

Raven had no desire to assist the general, whoever he was. However, if he could find the identity of the general, he could get close to him before eliminating him, where he would take charge and dismantle this whole operation. For now though, he would just have to play along as the brainwashed commander.

Elesis

Though the dungeons were poorly lit, Elesis figured out some things about what had happened to Helputt that made him think she was an assassin. Helputt was known for his shining, white armor. However, his armor never shined when they walked by any of the torches, and from the back, had several black spots on it. It seemed to her that something had corrupted him, but what it was, she had no idea. The first thought that came to mind was some sort of demonic power, but she tossed the idea aside. Helputt was the one who protected Hamel from demonic influence. He was the last person she would suspect to have demonic corruption.

Some time passed, and they took the other two away, one after the other, and she didn't see them again. It wasn't long after that they took her, probably to the same place they took the other two. She had the thought that this was the end of the line. She may not be leaving the place, but she could at least know what happened before she died.

"I get that you're not supposed to talk to me, but could you at least tell me what happened that caused Helputt to think I'm some sort of criminal?"

The guard escorting her gulped. Bingo.

"Ha! I saw that! You've noticed it, too! Something strange going on!"

He gulped again. "L-look, Lady Sieghart, I know you're a good person,"

Ooh. _Lady_ Sieghart. That's a new one.

"but I know about as much as you do. He went off to fight some demons, and his armor lost its luster when he came back. I don't know what he thinks you've done, but I'm just following orders. I _really_ don't want to be doing this. Especially to someone as good as you."

It wasn't long before they arrived in the room. Along the back wall were the corpses of her companions, shriveled and covered with a dark energy. Looks like it _was_ a demon after all.

The guard strapped her to the chair in the center of the room, when the room began to shake, and the guard looked around confused. Something was happening. Something else that Helputt had been hiding.

Lu

"Alright, this is the spot!"

"Are you sure? Once you open the portal, everyone will know where you are."

"I'm sure. There's a man in Hamel I have good connections with. His name is Helputt. I helped him deal with some rogue demons a few years before you entered the contract with me. He can be trusted."

"Hamel, eh? That's probably the safest place. After all, the best place to hide something is among a group dedicated to destroying them."

"Um, Ciel? I'm not so sure that that's how that one goes."

"Just open the portal. The sooner we're out of here, the better off we are."

Ciel

That's what he had hoped, anyway. When they arrived they were met by a figure in dull, white armor, and a man with black, spiky hair and a Nasod arm.

"How convenient," the man with the Nasod arm started," That's one less thing I have to get to. Thanks."

"Ah, Lu. So good to see you again." This time it was the man with the white armor.

"Helputt? What happened to your armor? And who is this?"

"Well, you see, Lu, there's an invasion headed to the city, and I'm afraid I haven't had time to polish my armor."

It was then that Ciel noticed the black spots on his back, which he immediately recognized as signs of demonic corruption.

"Lu, that's not Helputt! He's been possessed by a demon!" He pulled out his guns.

"Demon?" The man with the Nasod arm sounded surprised.

"And here I thought I'd be able to present two corpses to the general without much difficulty. Oh well. A prize is a prize!"

"Lu, look out!" He leaped to her, narrowly avoiding being hit, but didn't make it far enough to avoid falling.

Author's comments_

Add: I want to class up.

Me: No, not yet. We need to build some more, first.

Add: Screw you, I'm classing up.

Raven: Me too.

Elesis: Same

Me: Wait, no, not yet!

Ciel: Lu no

Lu: Can I class up?

Me : No, not yet.

Lu: Okay!

Eve: *enters the room*

Me: Eve, no

Eve: CAN I COME IN?!

Me: NO NOT YET

Eve: BUT YOU SETTING IT UP I WANT IN

Me: EVE BE PATIENT YOU'LL BE HERE SOON

Eve: *eyes light up* REALLY?!

Me: I think so

Chung: Did I come at a bad time?

Me: Nah, just a little early

Chung: I'll just, uh... wait out here then.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Elsword

The beast growled. Though they had beaten it, it still seemed unhappy. Probably because it was it really hard in the head.

"I see you managed to take down the beast, after all." They were greeted with Lowe's burly voice as they entered the town.

"You were right. It was the El's influence." This was surprisingly humble of Elsword.

"And Banthus? Did you find anything on him?"

Rena sighed. "I think our best course of action would be to head back to the camp at Noah's Lake."

"Actually," Aisha spoke up, seemingly out of the blue, "I found this." She showed a piece of paper with something written on it. "It seems like an escape plan."

"Wait, you found something as important as that, and decided not to tell us?!"

"Elsword, you were knocked out cold. It wouldn't have mattered if I _had_ shown it. I'd just of had to repeat myself here anyway."

"Aisha's right, Elsword. You're getting worked up over something that wouldn't have mattered until you woke up, anyway."

"Let me see that. Hmm... Elder, it looks like. You kids better get going, if you want any chance to catch up with him."

"I agree! Like my sister says, if you have time to talk-"

"You have to get moving, we know" both of the girls said in unison.

"We get it." Aisha finished alone.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" He took off, assuming the others followed him.

Aisha

Despite for far the adults made it sound, Elder was _surprisingly_ close by. It almost made Ruben seem like a small town on the outskirts of the area. She just assumed that all cities were like Ruben, but now that seemed like just a small village.

She rather enjoyed seeing such a big place filled with so many people. And she would have enjoyed it more, had it not been for Elsword's constant interjections and stops for food. There were _so_ many stops for food. They must've stopped at every meat shop in the entire city before they finally got back to the task on hand. _Every. Single. One._

"Umm... Elsword? Maybe we should get going. You know, to see Hoffman?"

"Ooff fffooohhn (Oh, fine)" He swallowed the mouthful of meat. "But we're coming back to this later."

"Hey, now that I think about it, where's Rena? I haven't seen her in a while."

"I'm not really sure. I haven't been paying attention, what with all this food around!"

Aisha sighed. "I'm sure we'll find her eventually. Let's head up to Hoffman's."

Turns out, they weren't far. It's the one time Elsword _hasn_ _'_ _t_ been in the way. Well, for the most part. They spent the last few hours browsing and buying various meats from all around Elrios. When they arrived, Rena was outside of his door, bowing politely.

"Thanks so much for your help, Hoffman. I'll get the others and we'll get right on it!"

"Ah, why am I not surprised? You ran off to complete the mission while Elsword ran off to fill his stomach."

"You seemed capable of taking care of him, so I figured I'd just move things along. Anyway, Hoffman has agreed to help us if, well, basically if we do all the work."

"Ah, typical merchants, then."

"In any case, there have been some bandits near the Wally Statue that are believed to be part of Banthus' gang. We should go and see what they know."

Rena

She could finally see what Aisha was talking about whenever she talked about Elsword getting in the way of business. Before, it seemed kind of funny that he took forever to do anything. She never thought that that was how he carried out his business all the time. She thought that when something urgent came up, that he would get down to business.

But here they were, still waiting on Elsword to finish exploring the town and buying various food items. Now there was a thought. She'd love to go shopping sometime. Maybe when this was all sorted out, she'd come back here with them, and they could all go shopping together. Well, that means that the sooner they get this done, the sooner they could go shopping! She decided to sneak off once again to see what the bandits knew.

...

"All right! Tell me what you know about Banthus' hideout!"

"Tsch. And what are you gonna do if we don't, pretty elf? Shoot us with that little bow of yours?"

And so that's exactly what she did. She notched an arrow, and shot it into his left shoulder. What a brilliant idea! Thanks, random bandit!

"The next one goes in your head. So, I'll ask again. Where's Banthus' hideout?!"

"Ack! Damn! That hurts! Here! I-it's all I have! It's a map to his hideout!"

"Thank you," she then pulled the arrow out of his shoulder, "for your cooperation!"

She began to walk back to Hoffman's, perfectly content with leaving Elsword and Aisha on their own.

Ain

Aisha was yelling at Elsword for calling her small again.

"You idiot! Are you really calling me small?!"

"W-well you are short!"

"I'm taller than you, you idiot!"

Ain decided to step in.

"Aisha, maybe you should calm down a bit..."

She swung full force towards him in her rage.

"Shut up, Ain! You're just... huh? I could've sworn there was someone there. It was someone I know. Who is it...?"

"I know how you feel, Aisha."

"I'm not through with you yet, idiot!"

"No, I'm serious! I feel like there's someone I keep forgetting. Someone I know. But All I can remember is a strange name. Ain."

"Ain... Now that you mention it, it does sound familiar..."

He had erased himself to avoid getting hit, but it seems that even them remembering his name wasn't enough to keep him alive. He was fading again. Much more slowly and painfully, but sill fading. He was also unable to access the spirit realm to hide himself, which is probably why he was still here. To save himself, he had stumbled into a dark alley, gripping himself in pain. It was then that a figure wearing a mask approached him.

"Well, well. It looks like you could use my help. I'm known as Henir, and I'd like to save you from your imminent and permanent this time, death."

Add

"Tsch. Damn. It's locked. Don't worry, my Eve. I'll get you out yet. Just you wait! Then you'll be _all mine!_ Kekekeke! But for now, I'll just have to settle for you!"

"No, Pong! You can't take those, Pong! That's an important research material, Pong!"

It didn't really matter to him. He destroyed the Nasod, and took the materials.

"Now, these should be able to withstand the temporal field. Now it's just a matter of implementing them into my Dynamos!"

It seemed like a complicated idea at the time, but it was rather simple, when it came down to it. All he had to do in the end was replace the cores with the new material.

"Kukuku. Now, I'll take back _everything!_ Kuhahak!"

Raven

Hmm. I bet those two will be helpful in taking down the General, whoever he is. In any case, the portal was open. According to the General's plans, his army should begin to enter Hamel from here. But he had another idea. All he had to do to take the city was to gain control of the Water Priestess. There was no invasion necessary to claim the city. All he had to do now was figure out how to slip away from his guards watching eyes.

Nothing was immediately coming to mind, but he had a thought. He would go down to 'take care' of the two demons who had come through the portal. All he had to do was convince the man of that. How hard can it be?

"Hey, those two seemed like trouble. I'm going to make sure we don't lose our asset to them."

"Now now, Helputt is very familiar with taking down demons. Those two should pose no real threat to him at all."

"Really now? Because you managed to possess him easily enough. And besides, if we lose him, we could lose any hope of succeeding here. He's the most important asset we have presently. I'm not going to risk losing him."

He took off, hoping that would be good enough. Inside the chamber were seemingly four sides. On one side, Helputt. On another, himself. The two demons were on another. On the final, was a girl who seemingly really liked the color red, along with a guard.

The question was, how many sides of this conflict were there actually? Helputt and himself were seemingly on the same side, from the perspective of both him and the demons. But the others? Were they on the same side? Or were they enemies of each other, as well? Was the red girl on Helputt's side? Or did she want to bring down the General as well?

There was too little certainty here. It seemed clear to all that the first person to make a move would lose, regardless of how many people are on each side. It was the red girl who made the first move. She leaned over to the guard.

"Get as far away from here as you can. Maybe leave the city for a few days. Things are going to get ugly here." She was not very subtle about telling the guard what to do. It was then that he recognized the armor she was wearing. It was the armor of the Red Knights. The armor of the guardians of Elrios.

Elesis

There was no need to be subtle. As far as she knew, the others that had just dropped into the room were all working together. So that she wouldn't lose, she had to bait them into attacking first. It was clear that whoever made the first move would lose.

The guard scurried off, and yet, no one made a move on him. Damn. It didn't work. That was the only thing she could do without ensuring that she would lose. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long for someone else to make a move.

"Lu, follow the guard. I'll find you when this is over."

"No way! I can't just leave you here! After all, I have more combat experience!"

"That's exactly why I'm telling you to follow the guard. There's most likely a coup going on here, and he'll need protection if that's happening."

"Fine, I'll go. But you have to leave me something interesting to do!"

Elesis stopped the girl as she went past. "Just who's side are you on, Lu?"

"What a strange question, strange girl. I'm on my side. I want to reclaim my throne. Now let me pass before Ciel gets mad at you!"

She sighed and did what she asked. She was at a disadvantage compared to Ciel. She could only use a sword, while he appeared to have guns. Looking around, they were all at a disadvantage.

Two had left the area. It was doubtful that any others would be allowed to leave as they did. It was then that Helputt made the next move, and she knew exactly who was on which side.

Ciel

The man in white armor had moved faster than seemed possible, especially for a human. He was certain that he would be taken out by him.

I'm sorry, Lu.

He closed his eyes and awaited his demise, but there was suddenly a clash of steel. Someone had protected him. But who?

He opened his eyes. The red-haired girl. She had blocked the man's sword with her own.

"You know, for someone who uses guns, you sure are slow to pull the trigger."

She had a strange sense of humor. He smiled, pulled out his gun, pulling the trigger. The bullet bounced off the armor, but the man was still pushed back, seemingly unconscious.

"And what about you? You've been quiet for a while."

He spoke quietly, as if to avoid being heard. "Come with me. I need to talk to you both."

He began to run out of the room.

Eve

(Listen to "alone"/"Eve's Theme 1" on repeat for maximum effect)

SystemBoot Sequence Activated

Queen Type N:Time

Unavailable

System:Initiating Sensory Input

Auditory Input Initiated

Tactile Input Initiated

Olfactory Input Initiated

Visual Input Initiated

System:Updating Blackbox Software

10%

25%

30%

48%

63%

78%

94%

100%

Blackbox is up to date

Queen Type

0 results found

Queen Type

0 results found

...

...

Queen Type N:find subject=Nasods contents=death,demise,destruction,annihilation

1 result found

Queen Type N:showlocation

Result.1=Blackbox

No further results found

Queen Type N:Open Blackbox file=result

Accessing Blackbox

Blackbox accessed!

Opening requested file

Filetype=report

Author=unknown

Title=Victory Over Nasods

Text=This long war against the Nasods has finally reached a conclusion! All of the Nasod inhabitants of Altera have either been destroyed or corrupted beyond the point of truly being called living...

...

...

...

...among those Nasods that have been confirmed destroyed are...

...Orion...

...Eve...

...The Nasod King...

Queen Type N:Close file

File closed

...

Tears welled up in Eve's eyes. Though she was considered an android, and thought to be unable to feel emotions, what she felt was very real. Everyone she knew was dead. Perhaps she was dead, too. That was what the file reported. Unlikely. All system reports indicated that she was very much so alive.

Somewhere, buried deep within her sorrow, there was something else.

Queen Type N: global:human

Something she didn't understand.

=736,285,158

She wanted to know what it was.

Queen Type N: Altera:human

But she also wanted to know something else.

=2,784

She wanted to know why.

Queen Type N: local:human

Why was she alone?

=1

Why did they have to die?

Queen Type N:|

Why was she alone spared?

Queen Type N:locate subject=human

Why was she still here?

Locating...

Why did she feel this way?

located

Why did everything come to an end?

Queen Type N:showpath subject=local:human

Why was she alive?

Author's comments

I'm not crying.

I'm not crying.

I'm not crying.

*cries a lot*


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Rena

It turns out that Elsword and Aisha had noticed her absence, as they were waiting for her near Hoffman's.

"I see you figured out where I would eventually come."

"Yeah, you left us behind! We missed out on all the action!" Look, more Elsword being Elsword.

"Actually, you didn't miss much. They broke pretty quickly, so there wasn't much to do. It was actually kind of disappointing."

"But, still! You could've-" Elsword kept rambling on, as he was known to do.

"Let's just head in." Aisha clearly didn't want to deal with this anymore.

"Hoffman, Luichel, I'm back!"

Hoffman spoke first. "And? Did you find anything?"

"Yeah, one of them gave me a map to the hideout!"

Luichel spoke next. "Oh, how lucky."

Someone else entered the room. "So you found Banthus' hideout?"

"Yeah, I was just about to send these kids out to check it out." Hoffman replied.

Elsword and Aisha both had the same reaction at the same time. It was actually kind of funny to everyone else in the room.

"What..."

"You should hurry and get moving into the hideout. We don't know if Banthus is planning on moving out soon."

Elsword

There were an unbelievable number of bandits in the hideout. Like, at least three times the amount there were in the camp by Noah's Lake. But their numbers didn't matter. He could easily take them all on, even by himself!

However, he had no such luck against things that could fly. Imagine trying to hit a bird with a large stick. This was the same problem he was having with all these damn bats. He couldn't hit them. Not a single one.

"Hey, I could use some help here!"

"Oh, _now_ you want help. I thought you said you could take on the whole place by yourself!"

"That was before I knew there were things that could fly!"

"I don't know. Should we help him, Rena?"

"Well, it _is_ kind of fun watching him struggle like this. Especially after seeing him be so cocky!"

He kept swatting at the bats, without any chances of actually hitting one.

"I guess we should. After all, the sooner we're done, the sooner I can get to my shopping!" She readied her arrow and fired it, taking out one of the bats.

"Oh, fine." Aisha used a fire spell, hitting multiple bats as well as Elsword.

"H-hey! Watch where you're using that thing!" He got on the ground and started rolling to put out the flames.

"Oh, sorry. I thought you were fast enough to get out of the way. Oops~"

"You're lying! That was intentional!"

"No, that was a happy accident." She launched a fire ball directly at him. " _That._ Now _that_ was intentional!"

"Why you little..."

"L-little?!" She launched a giant wall of fire at him that set every single bat on fire. He was also on fire.

"I think that was a little bit overkill."

"Really? I'm not so sure he got the message."

"Eh..."

Aisha

It was a good day. She was able to set Elsword on fire and get away with it. More to the point, Rena didn't yell at her for it this time. That happened a lot.

However, she only did it because she knew he wouldn't be seriously injured by it. After all, he seemed to have the inherent power of fire, and it kind of bothered her. She had to train for _years_ to have that kind of control over fire. Then he comes along without any kind of training or practice and is able to control it better than she could. Well, that was a few years ago, but still.

"Are you trying to kill me?!"

She looked over at Rena.

"Is that okay?" She said quietly.

"Not a chance. Please apologize." She whispered back.

"Yes, absolutely! Do you want me to try again?"

Rena proceeded to elbow her in the gut.

"Oof!" She fell to the ground in pain.

"She says sorry!" Rena yelled over to Elsword.

"You and I both know that she wouldn't that of her own free will!"

Aisha stood back up, clearly in pain.

"L-lets move f-forward, sh-shall we?"

That had hurt. That had _really_ hurt. She didn't know that it was even _possible_ to generate that kind of force in that kind of space. She needed to learn how to do it so she could use it on Elsword.

In the next part of the cave, they found Banthus. Unsurprisingly, Rena was the first to speak up. She'd been doing that a lot recently, in place of Elsword.

"It's over, Banthus!" She readied another arrow.

"Really? Because I don't think-"

She fired the arrow directly into his arm, making him drop a piece of paper, and he yelled out.

Aisha felt the need to join in, so she decided to light the same arm on fire, causing him to yell out again.

"F-fine! You win!" Just like that he ran off, not even giving Elsword a chance to do anything. For once, Aisha rooted for the enemy. Not because she supported them, of course, but just because it stripped Elsword of an opportunity.

"Damn. He got away. But look! He dropped something!" He ran over to pick up the piece of paper. "This is big! We have to get this back to Hoffman!"

"What's it say?"

"Banthus is working for Wally!"

Eve

Queen Type N:Record label=entry 1

"You! Human! Tell me everything you know about the destruction of the... wait... What are..."

System:Update previous command

Local;Nasod=6

Global;Nasod=6

"Yes, dear queen? You think you're somehow entitled to make demands from me?

"Y-you know who I am?!"

"Kuhu. Of course I do! Someone who studies Nasods like I do know who you are just by looking at you!"

"T-then you know why I have the right to make demands from you! Tell me! What do you know about the destruction of the Nasods?!"

"Ho? The Queen herself doesn't know?"

"Answer the question!"

"My dear, that was several hundred years ago!"

"W-what? S-several hundred years?!"

Queen Type N:Time

Unavailable

"That's right. The last one was killed several hundred years ago! And the war began a couple hundred years before that!"

Queen Type N:Time

Unavailable

Queen Type N:Time

Unavailable

Queen Type N:Time

Unavailable

Queen Type N:Time

Unavailable

"W-what year is it!"

"My dear, I don't know that, either."

"You're lying!"

Queen Type N:Detect Lie

Scanning...

No lie detected

"I'm afraid I'm not. I have no idea what year it is. But tell you what. Come with me, and I'll tell you everything I know about the destruction of the Nasods."

Not recommended.

Queen Type N:Detect Trustworthiness

Scanning...

Target deemed untrustworthy

Queen Type N:Scan local;Nasods

Local;Nasods scanned

Name=Dynamo

Queen Type N:Check Target Records

No records found

Queen Type N:Date Nasod;Dynamo

Nasod;Dynamo is 3 years, 6 months, 1 week, 3 days, 21 hours, 53 minutes, 32 seconds old

Queen Type N:Find Nasod;Dynamo;creator

Nasod;Dyanmo;creator=Add

Queen Type N:Does Nasod;creator=trustworthy?

Yes

Queen Type N:If Nasod;Dynamo;creator=Add, is Nasod;creator=Add?

Yes

Queen Type N:If Nasod;creator=trustworthy and Nasod;creator=Add, does Add=trustworthy?

Computing...

Yes

"Very well. I will go with you."

Add

She was here. She was right here. And to think, he didn't have to do anything to find her. She went and found him! Still in perfect working condition, too! He wondered why it was that she went to him, first. Perhaps it was his Nasods. He'd probably find out soon enough.

"Now, I demand that you tell me about the destruction of the Nasods!"

"Are you sure you're in a position to make demands?"

"To what are you referring? I am the queen of the Nasods! You _will_ answer me!"

"Sure, sure, your highness. You're the queen of the Nasods... oh wait. All your people are dead. What's a queen with nobody to rule over?"

"Grr..." She sighed. "Fine. Have it your way. I formally request that you tell me what happened to the Nasods."

"Much better. Now, let's see about making a deal."

"Deal?! That is not what we agreed upon!"

"Now now, little Eve, I never said that my information wouldn't come at a price."

"Fine. How about this. You tell me what I want to know, and I won't kill you right here!"

"Oh? Feisty, aren't we Eve? I was thinking about less... violent methods. Perhaps, we could make a trade?"

"That _was_ a trade. Your information for your life."

"Mmm... how about this. You teach me about how Nasods work, and I'll tell you about their destruction. Fair?"

"What will you do with that kind of information?"

"And what will you do knowing about their destruction? Tell me. What will _you_ do with that kind of information?"

"I will seek out those who destroyed them, and kill them."

"Hmph. You can't. Trust me, I tried. Why? Because they hunted down me and my family, too! You can't destroy them. But, you _could_ rebuild them. With my help, of course."

"And you expect me to trust you after you deceived me like that?"

"Decieved? No no. I simply withheld information! And yes, I do, because these six-"

"Are Nasods, I know Add. They showed up in my registry of living Nasods."

"Then you should know that I can rebuild your people. I just need to know how."

"That may be so, but you said you can't stop the people who destroyed them in the first place. What good would it do?"

"We could create a third generation of Nasods."

"...What?"

"Think about it. Or perhaps you already have. With the classical design of Nasods combined with my own knowledge, we could create something so far advanced, nothing would be able to stop it!"

"And I suppose you're referring to yourself?"

"You're sharp. But, perhaps we can work out how we can both benefit from this."

Raven

The others followed him close behind. He would have exactly one chance to make this work.

"Here's how this is going to work. This tunnel exits near the dock. You'll find a battleship pulled into harbor. You'll recognize it right away. None of the guards enter my room, in the center of the ship. If you can get there, you'll be fine."

The red girl spoke up. "Question. How do we know you're not leading us into a trap?"

"You don't. I don't know if there will be any guards on the ship, but try to avoid being seen. Once the invasion is well under way, I will be escorted back to the ship and-"

"Hold on. I'm trying to stop this city from being invaded!"

"Which is why they'll be expecting the most resistance now. We'll come back for it later. I have a plan."

The demon spoke up next. "And do you care to tell us that plan?"

He stopped running and turned around. "Right now, the General trusts me. I plan to betray him once I get to the top."

"General? Who is this General?" The red girl questioned. He'd have to admit, it was a good question. One he had been asking since he first awoke.

"I don't know. I've never heard a name. All I know is that he has an army ready to lay siege to the city from that portal."

Both spoke at once. "Scar."

"So you both know him. That'll be an advantage. We need to get moving now. I'll leave first, and the two of you should leave a while later. This way, it just looks like I lost you in the tunnels." He started running again.

"Why the hurry?" The red girl was smart. Very smart. He hoped she could use that for their benefit.

"Ears are likely on their way. If I'm overheard, then this is all for nothing."

"One more question. How many cities are going to be taken before you make your move? How many lives will be lost?"

He hesitated. "However many it takes. Look, this is bigger than the three of us. As much as I would like to stop anyone else from dying, sacrifices will have to be made. And don't worry. I'll pay for that statement later when I'm burning in Hell."

They had arrived at the exit. "This is where we part ways. Good luck!" He ran off, looking frustrated, and headed back to the portal.

Ciel

"One of us should find a path through the ship before we both try. Less risk in getting caught."

He'd have to admit, the plan sounded crazy and incredibly risky. But right now, that was the only plan they had. So it would have to work.

"I agree. You should find the way through the ship. I have to go and get Lu before she starts causing trouble. Meet back here in an hour?"

"Sounds good. Oh! And, I believe your name is Ciel, if I heard correctly?"

"Yes. And the little one, the queen's name is Lu. I don't believe I ever caught you name?"

"Elesis, of the Red Knights. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. Let's get moving before anyone shows up."

He figured it would be best if he didn't come the way he came, and would instead find a different route. The challenge would be finding where they went. He could, of course, tell the general direction Lu was in, but to find exactly where she was would reveal both of their locations, and that was a risk they couldn't afford to take. He hoped Lu would see it the same way.

Lu

The guard had done most of the leading, and she had stayed a comfortable distance behind. During their walk, they talked a bit, and he told Lu that he was going to a place that, if something like this were to happen, would be where people would go to remain safe.

It wasn't long after they arrived that Ciel had made his way to them as well.

"Ciel! What happened?"

"We need to get moving. We're going to rendezvous with Elesis, who's currently scouting for a safe route through the enemies ship."

"Elesis? Who's that?"

"Ah, my apologies. Elesis is the red girl from the room."

"Oh! So you teamed up with her to beat the white guy and the guy with the red streak in his hair?"

"Well, the man with the red streak is actually on our side, but is posing as a commander for General Scar. He plans to take him down."

"What? A human? Taking down Scar? But that's impossible!"

"He doesn't seem to think so. And neither does Elesis. Right now, it seems like those two are our best hope of reclaiming your throne."

"Oh, okay. Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a few people around while I regain my powers."

The guard suddenly spoke up. "So you two are going with two others to try and stop is... Scar person? Then I'm going with you!"

Ciel put his hand on his shoulder.

"No. This is something we need to do. This is about more than saving this city. This is about restoring what we've lost."

"And besides, the people here need you to protect them! I'm sure you'll be helpful!"

"Well, to be honest, I never really fit in here. They only signed me onto the guard at all because they needed a full-time guard to escort people. You claim that this is about restoring what was lost. Not for me. For me, it's about proving to myself that I'm more than just an escort. It's about proving that I can be brave, and that I can do the right thing. That's what this is to me."

"Look, we would love any help we can get, but-"

"No, Ciel. I'll let him join us. I believe him. I think he's got a good heart. Besides, remember the time you told me you needed to prove yourself? You sounded just like him. If for no other reason, than it's because you understand what he's going through."

He sighed. "Fine. He can come. But we need to get moving to meet up with Elesis in time."

Elesis

Getting through the ship was no easy task. The other person sounded like there wouldn't be many guards, but the place was swarming with them. It would take precision timing to get through. Luckily for her, the ship didn't have a very complex layout. There were some strange things, to be sure, but she was able to figure out which room belonged to the man.

Raven was his name apparently. At least, that's what some journals said that were aboard the ship. She had run through the layout multiple times to ensure that she knew how to get through it, timings and all, when something else happened. The guards suddenly ran off the ship. She assumed it was because the invasion was beginning.

This actually made it harder, as now she was unable to hide behind some on the people that were there before. However, she eventually got the hang of it, and headed back to the sewer entrance.

"Good, you're here. We need to- Um... the guard?"

Ciel responded. "He insisted on coming with. Lu supported him. Long story. We'll talk about it later."

She sighed. "Fine. Just be careful. We don't have much leeway, and I planned this trip for three people. Don't do anything that seems like it might even remotely have a chance at failing, okay?"

The guard nodded, and they began their entry into the ship. It was tight, but they eventually managed to make it without being caught. They just had to wait for Raven to come back and for the ship to set sail. Then they would hopefully further discuss Raven's plan to take down General Scar.

Author's comments

Eve: Can I have a more central role?

Me: Talk to Add about it

Eve: Okaaay!

Me: Oh dear god what have I done

Raven: I'm classing up.

Me: No you're not.

Lu: Yes he is

Me: Damnit, Lu!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Aisha

"I see. So that's how it is. But... this doesn't solve anything. Banthus stole the shard because Wally told him to. Now the question is why does Wally want the El?" Hoffman noted.

"I'm not sure. Either way, we need to get into Wally's castle and get the shard back!" She stated the obvious to make herself seem less awkward.

"I say we charge strait in through the front gate! They'll never see it coming!" Elsword being Elsword.

"That's not going to work. They already likely have the gate heavily guarded. We'll have to go in another way." Hoffman shot down his idea.

Rena's ears perked up. "So we have to sneak in?"

Luichel started thinking. "Well, there is a path through the underground water way, but I haven't used it in so long, I don't know if we can still use it."

Aisha spoke up again. "Well, we may as well try it. I mean, the worst that can happen is it's closed off, right?"

"The worst that can happen is they've set a trap knowing it's the easiest way to get into the castle. But it's the only option I can see right now. If anything seems suspicious, get out of there immediately."

"Will do!"

The group headed to the waterway, which was surprisingly close by. Aisha figured she'd have to get used to the idea that things were closer than she'd believed they were. However, she also had a gut feeling that she'd later regret that thought.

Elsword

Once inside the waterway, they were faced with Banthus once again.

"Heh. You should've finished me while you had the chance! Now you're not going to have it!"

"Remember, I never had a shot at it, Banthus! Now it's my turn to attack."

"Fine. Go ahead and try!"

Elsword rushed ahead and swung his sword until it came to a stop. Something had managed to stop his swing. But what?

It was then that Banthus stood up, and the light reflected off his now metal arm which had caught the sword. With one motion, he swung it to the side, releasing it to send Elsword flying off towards the wall.

"You know, when you did what you did to my arm, I thought I was done for. I was sure that Wally would throw me aside like yesterday's trash. Instead, he gave me a second chance. He gave me a new arm. And now, I'm going to make sure you three brats stop interfering for good!"

He ran towards the girls, blocking all of their attacks with his arm, knocking each of them to the side.

"You know, I should really thank you. Now, I've become invinsible!"

Elsword lunged at him for another attack, only for him to turn and catch his blade once again.

"Too slow!"

Elsword went for a kick, and Banthus moved him to the side to avoid getting hit.

"The amulet! He's guarding the amulet!"

"Tsch. I'm not as weak as that prototype down in Hamel. You may have found my weakness, but this arm isn't the only new thing I've got!"

He tossed Elsword to the side, and several swords appeared around him. He walked up to Elsword.

"What goes around, comes around, kid."

Aisha then leapt on him and wrapped her arms around his throat, trying to grab the amulet. However, Banthus was easily able to shake her off.

"You know, if you had just pretended to be dead, I'd have let you be. Now, I'm actually going to kill you!"

He turned the swords to her, and motioned his hand down, the swords following his hands.

It was then that an arrow struck him, cutting the string of the amulet, which fell to the ground.

"Why you little..."

A sword pierced his chest from behind. Elsword was standing, bruised, scraped, and bleeding, with his sword through Banthus's chest.

Pulling his sword out, he spoke. "You're not going to survive this one, Banthus. Nobody hurts my friends and lives to tell about it. _Nobody_."

"Elsword!" Aisha cried out.

"Aisha!" He ran over to her. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay! There's a sword impaling my side!" She looked like she would've punched him had she not been impaled.

"Okay, um. I'll just..." He tried lifting the sword, but stopped when she yelled in pain.

"Rena! Do... do you have anything?"

"Well, I have a couple of health potions, but they won't do any good if we can't close the wound."

"Aisha, could you possibly heal yourself?"

"Um... let me think... The amulet. It's magic. I... I might be able to use it to close the wound."

Rena tossed it to Elsword, who handed it to Aisha.

"You ready?"

She nodded, taking in a breath of preparation.

"This won't hurt much."

Before she could reply, he pulled out the sword. She yelled out in pain, and managed to think enough to start healing the wound. When she was finished, Rena gave her a health potion, and she passed out from the pain.

"She looks like she'll be alright. We just need to give it a little time. I'll scout ahead, and you should stay here with her. Okay?"

He nodded. He couldn't help but feel like this was all his fault. If only he'd been just a little bit faster, he could've saved her from this misery. The thing Banthus did with the swords. If someone like Banthus could figure out how to do that, he could too. He just needed to be able to refine his magic more.

Rena

If she was being honest with herself, what had just happened was traumatizing, even for her. She wasn't scouting ahead to give Elsword time to cope with it, she was doing it to give herself time to cope with it. Through all her years as a ranger, she'd never actually seen someone close to her get injured. Everyone was always able to protect themselves. She'd never imagined that something like this could even happen.

As for the waterways, there wasn't really anything else in them. Not even any guards. Pleanty of guards above the waterway, but nothing else in them. It didn't take too long to find the entrance to Wally's castle. However, she decided to sit and wait a while. She couldn't find it in herself to go back. Not like this. She just needed time to herself.

Eve

Queen Type N:Saveto Nasod;history

Saved

Queen Type N:Record label=entry 2

"I see. So that is what happened. Thank you for your coo- assistance."

"Well, of course."

"Now I will fulfill my end of the bargain." She started drawing in the floor of the cave.

"Hm? What's this? I thought you said you'd teach me about how Nasods work!"

"I am. These are diagrams for some of my closest friends."

"Oh? I didn't know the queen was allowed to have friends."

"I had many. But these were two who were always by my side. I would request your assistance in rebuilding them, first."

"And how does that teach me about them?"

"You will be able to understand how they work if you are able to build them. So we will build them."

"You sure this will teach me something? These diagrams aren't exactly of top of the line Nasods."

"You are correct. In that case, I will allow you to observe as I make hardware updates to them."

"That's not exactly what I meant."

"That is what I am offering. Take it or leave it."

"Tsch. Fine. I'll take it. I happen to know of a nearby scrap yard. I'll go get some parts."

Chances of betrayal: 73%

"I am coming with you."

"What? Why?"

"So you don't misuse my trust."

"What, you think I'll betray you, or something?"

Chances of betrayal: 43%

"Precisely. Additionally, it is doubtful that you know the correct parts required to build them."

Queen Type N:Chance Add=KnowsCorrectParts

19%

"Fine. You can come with."

Chances of betrayal: 2%

Add

What a bother. It was like she was computing the odds that he would betray him, or something. As if he would do that. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Well, not anymore it wasn't. All he had to do now was find a way to refine the time and space coordinates. And with Eve's help, that would be a breeze!

After a while, he came back with a. armload of materials.

"Now, which of these would make a decent shell?"

She spent time scanning each of the things he brought back.

"None of them. These are all internal parts. They are soft and may break easily. However, we may be able to begin making the internal structures with these."

She spent some time showing him where to put the parts, and why that was the most efficient place to put them. For such a seemingly small construct, it was overwhelmingly complex. Parts were everywhere and half the cave floor was taken up by a single drone.

He had to leave and come back with new parts a multitude of times, suspecting that Eve wasn't helping pick out the parts to help him recognize the ones he needed. She eventually gave him tips on how to pick good parts from bad ones. They had replaced a number of parts with newer ones in better condition. He'd have to admit, he was learning more in this one day than he had having spent his childhood working with them. He could see why they were considered their own race. They were overwhelmingly complex.

"This is satisfactory. Next we need the material for the shell. The entrance to a refinery was in the scrapyard. I will show you how to make materials of a satisfactory quality for the shells."

And they did just that. It took several hours, but he eventually figured out the process enough to make a half-decent shell.

"Good. Now make the other, but in black."

"What? Why does the color matter?"

"Because that was the color of his shell. Repeat the process, but make it black."

She was pushy, but her methods worked. This shell was better than the previous one, even while he had to figure out how to change the color.

"I will trust you enough to rebuild the other one. I will stay in here."

She was putting a lot of faith in him. It almost made him feel bad about using her like this. _Almost_.

He finished building the second one, and she seemed pleased with it.

"Excelent. I will be heading out now."

"Hold up. You said you'd allow me to watch as you upgraded their hardware."

"And I will. When I return."

"And where exactly are you going?"

"To destroy Nasod Ruler."

"I told you that was impossible. It doesn't matter if there are three of you. They will completely destroy you, and I don't know enough to rebuild you yet!"

"Then what is your suggestion?"

"Look, I had an idea while building your little drones. We take them down one by one..."

"So we need to assassinate their leaders individually?"

"Basically. However, You're not even the latest model of Nasod. They'd know you're coming from miles away!"

"And your solution?"

"Show me how to upgrade hardware, and I'll upgrade yours."

She hesitated before agreeing.

Raven

"So you're back. And? What happened?"

He punched one of the pillars, leaving a dent in it. "They got away."

"I see. Shall we have out units be on the lookout for them? They can't have gotten far."

"Absolutely. If they capture them, they are to bring them to me."

"Very well. And the army?"

"About that. You're in charge until I get back. Find places all over the city that give us complete coverage."

"And where are you going now?"

"I have a princess to capture. Once I do, we're going to announce it to the entire city."

"Very well. I will forward your decision to the General. I will send one of my men with you, in case something were to happen."

"No. Have the General send someone he trusts. Someone he knows is powerful. Once I take the water temple, someone strong is going to have to be there to make sure no one is able to free the princess. Got it?"

"Fine. I will send your request to the General. You will have to wait here in the meantime."

Raven grabbed his shirt. "That is not a request. He _will_ send someone, because he _knows_ this will work. Understood?"

"Y-yes, of course, sir."

"Now, I'll be on my way. I have a temple to take."

Author's comments

Me: OH NO AISHA'S DEAD!

Me: Oh, never mind

Me: OH NO AISHA'S DEAD!

Aisha: WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT UP!

Me: Wow, Add. That's... suspiciously nice of you.

Add: Shut up

Eve: He's such a sweetheart!

Add: SHUT UP!

Me: No cunning plan?

Add: Of course there's a cunning plan!

Me: What is it?

Add: For me only to know!

Me: It was worth a try.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Aisha

She slowly opened her eyes and blinked. It took her a moment to remember what had just happened. They found out Banthus was working for Wally. They went to the underground waterways to find a way into the castle. Banthus was waiting for them. While fighting him, he-

A shiver ran down her spine. He stabbed her. She reached down to her side. There was a scar where she had been stabbed. And it still hurt. She tried sitting up.

"Nng..." She held her side.

"Aisha!"Elsword scrambled over to her. "Aisha, are you okay?" He had apparently been sitting nearby and he was... shirtless.

She looked down. He had draped his shirt over her. How sweet.

"Y-yeah. A-a okay!" She moved her hand up so that her eye was between her index and middle fingers, open in a V. She grimaced again, and Elsword laid her back down.

"Aisha, you just need to rest for now."

"How long have I been out?"

"Don't ask-"

"How long?"

"A couple hours."

"Did you beat Wally?"

"Actually, we were waiting for you to recover."

"What? But the El shard..."

"Screw the El shard! Your life is far more important!"

She blushed a little. "So what happened to Rena?"

"She said she was going to scout ahead, but I think she just needed some time to herself. She took it pretty hard."

"I see. So I caused everyone to worry..."

"Of course you did. Both of us care about you. As your friends, it's kind of our job to care about each other!"

"I see..."

"We're going to head back to town when Rena gets back, and find you a proper healer."

"No, Wally first."

"But you-"

"I'm not exactly dying here! I can deal with a little bit of pain for a while! Nng..." She had tried to sit up again, and Elsword placed and hand on her shoulder, pushing her back down.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Let's go meet up with Rena to show her I'm alright."

"Mmm..." He thought a minute. "Okay. I'll carry you there, but I'm not letting you enter the castle, okay?"

"Got it."

He picked her up and began to walk with her in his arms. She was tired and Elsword walked at a steady pace, so she closed her eyes and began to sleep.

Rena

She had no idea how much time had passed, but she heard heavy footsteps walking through the water. It was Elsword. He was carrying Aisha and... was shirtless.

"Is she..."

"She's fine. Tired and in pain, but fine."

"That's good. Um... why are you shirtless?"

"Geez, she asked me that too! I thought she might be cold, and this was the closest thing I had to a blanket."

"Ah, I guess it's fine then. Anyway, we should get her back to town to a healer."

"Actually, she said to do it after we finish up here. She said she'd be fine, and I didn't think it's be a good idea to fight her on that right now. But she's staying down here."

"I... I see. If that's the case, we should head up then. The sooner we get finished, the sooner we can get her to a healer."

He started to head up the ladder.

"Um... You're not going to fight shirtless, are you?"

"Why not? Aisha's health is more important. And besides, it's not like it's actually protecting me, anyway."

"Eh... Okay then. L-let's just get going."

Elsword

The exit Rena had found apparently led into the courtyard. The strange thing was that there was nothing there. No gates, no buildings, no plants, nothings. Just an entrance to the castle itself. A suspiciously large door too.

Conveniently as he thought that, it opened. Behind it was a large robot looking thing in the general shape of Wally. It realistically could have been anyone, but this being Wally's castle, that's what would have made the most sense. It would have been cool, had it not started flying rapidly towards them.

Elsword jumped out of the way and slashed at it. Unsurprisingly, it did nothing.

"Rena, you got any good ideas?" He had to shout to the other side of the courtyard.

"Not really."

"So we just have to wait until it wears down?"

"Or until I get an idea."

The robot made a lunge at him. As he dodged, he looked up and had an idea.

"Hey, could you keep its attention for a bit? I have an idea."

"What? Why me?! I can't touch this thing!"

"Consider it payback for William!"

"William? Um, that wasn't-" She was cut off by another attack, and Elsword ran up to it. "Damn it, Elsword, I really hate you sometimes!" She fired a couple arrows at it to get its attention.

He began climbing up it. It probably wouldn't work, but it was worth a shot. He reached its shoulder, and carefully watched its movements before making his next move. At the right moment, he striked at one of the slots in its helmet. Sparks appeared from the inside, to it seems he was right after all. The problem was, he couldn't get his sword out of it.

"Aim for the places without metal plates!"

Rena took aim with her bow. It was at that moment that Elsword got a serious sense of déjà vu. The robot took off strait upwards, and in seemingly no time at all, he was high above the castle.

Once again, it was quite the view. It wasn't so bad until the robot took off strait down, leaving him to fall to the ground. Suddenly, he once again remembered why he was afraid of heights as he tumbled town again. Then he had an idea. It probably wouldn't work like with the Phoru, but hey. It was worth a try.

He took aim with his sword and he fell, carefully aiming for its head. He was feeling pretty confident as he descended. Unfortunately, his confidence was misplaced. He fell directly in front of it.

However, he did not miss it in its entirety. He somehow managed to stab its foot. It wasn't a particularly useful place to have hit on a robot, but hey. It was something.

Unfortunately for him, that meant he could no longer retrieve his sword. Not that it really mattered now. Looking up, he saw the sharp end of his sword through the bottom of the robots foot. Hey, it had gone pretty far.

Of course, he recognized what was about to happen. He would be impaled by his own sword shortly before being stepped on. For some reason, it was calming to know this, even though he knew he shouldn't be calm right now. He felt at peace. He fully accepted what was about to happen. He was happy with the way his life had gone.

That is, until what could only be described as a beam of white light beamed in front of him, pushing the robot back and completely annihilating its leg. He looked at where it had come from. It was Aisha.

She started rocking a bit, and Elsword got up and ran over to her, catching her as she fell.

"Aisha, what are you doing here?! I told you to stay down in the waterway!"

"Saving you, you dumbass! Look, now we're even."

He couldn't help but let out a little chuckle. "If there's even a scratch on my sword, than El help you."

She glanced over. "Well, I don't think there's a _scratch_ on it, but..."

"And you better not have let my shirt get all wet in that nasty water."

"Tell you what, if it's wet, I'll buy you a new one."

"Of my choosing."

"Well, duh! Like I have any idea about men's combat fashion!"

He couldn't help but let out another laugh.

"If you two love birds are done flirting, you might want to see this."

"L-love birds?!" Aisha was horribly offended by this.

Elsword laid her back down and ran over to Rena.

"There's no El shard here. Wally must have ran off with it."

"So then... the chase isn't over yet."

"Looks like. However, I did find this. Maybe you can make use of it." She tossed him a sheath.

"A sheath?" He gasped. "My sword!" He ran over to a pile of scrap metal that seemed to belong to the robot's leg and began digging until he found it. "Yes! Not a scratch! Thank you, Elesis!"

"Umm, what?"

"Oh, she got me this sword as a present just before she left on her journey. Ah, we should probably head back to town for Aisha."

He helped Aisha down the ladder and picked her up again once they were down.

"Aww, man! My shirt!"

Rena's ears drooped down at a thought she had.

"Umm... I guess I could pick it up for you..."

"Ah, don't bother. I don't think I want it anymore."

The first thing they did when they got back to town was find a doctor and had him see Aisha.

"Hmm... looks like there's not much I can do here. You two did a pretty good job patching her up!"

"Is... is she going to be okay?" Elsword felt kind of nervous.

The doctor let out a hefty laugh. "Don't you worry, son. She's gonna be fine! Just need a few days rest is all!"

Elsword sighed in relief. "Good. Can we have some space?"

"Oh sure! In fact, I won't even charge you for seeing me, seeing on how I don't seem to be needed!"

"That's so kind of you!" Rena perked up at the idea. She must not have had much money.

"And seeing on what you've done for us here in Elder, if you two want to head out, I'll take care of her for free as well!"

"Thank you so much, sir!"

"Elsword, if you're going to head out, take some Ed from my bag and buy yourself a nice shirt, okay?"

"I thought you said to never, _ever_ to look into your bag?"

She smiled a little. "I'll give you permission just this once, 'kay?"

He took some of the money, which, admittedly, he felt a little bad about, and headed towards the door. "I'll be back soon!"

He looked around for a while, looking at the various tailors, and seeing if he could find one he liked. Eventually, he did and payed for it using Aisha's money, which he still felt bad about, before seeing a dress similar to the one she had been wearing on his way out. He went back to the counter.

"Um, excuse me, but could you possibly make that dress in this size?"He pulled out Aisha's bloodied dress, which he had snatched from the dresser while she wasn't looking, and placed it on the counter.

"What happened here, did she spill paint or something?" The woman looked very confused.

"Um, well... she got, uh... stabbed." There was no way to put that gently.

"Oh, I uh... Oh! You're that Elsword boy, aren't you?"

"Huh? You know who I am?"

"Are you kidding? All of Elder knows who you are! And to think, we had no idea what Wally was doing in that castle of his... Anyway, I'll get right to it! Oh and um, that outfit... I'll make you a... better... one."

"Ah, thanks, I guess. But um, I don't have much money, really."

"Oh, that's no problem! This'll be on the house! Anything for the Heroes of Elder!"

"Really? Thanks a lot, miss!"

"Any time! It'll be done in a few hours, so remember to come and pick it up!"

He had a title. An actual, genuine, title! One that was even given to him by someone else! He could get used to the feeling!

He left the shop and decided he would go get something to eat. However, before he could get very far, he was stopped by a blacksmith.

"Hey, kid! Is that Conwell yer holdin'?"

"Huh? Conwell? What are you talking about?"

"That sheath. Lemme see it a minute... Yep! Sure is! What yer holdin' there is a sheath called Conwell! It allows ye to summon a sword outta thin air! Where'd ye find it?"

"Umm... Wally's castle?"

"Wally's castle, eh? I reckon yer Elsword then! Red hair an' all."

"Uh, yeah, that's me!"

"Well'n, why don't I fix ye up some armor then! An' while I'm at it, I could make yer sword a li'l stronger as well! What'ya say?"

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt. Just be careful. This sword is a gift from my sister."

"Aw, ye don' need to worry 'bout that! I'm the best blacksmith in all o' Elder!"

"So how much are you going to charge me, then?"

"Well that's mighty kind of you, but I just like to help out folks who are in need of help!"

"No, I insist. I need to pay you _something_ for all this."

"Well, if ya insist! I won' charge ye much, though."

And he didn't. He charged so little that it made Elsword feel like he was stealing. He didn't like it one bit. He would much rather pay for what he could, and go without for what he couldn't. Maybe fame wasn't for him.

He finally found a place that served decent meat after a while of searching. Once again, they gave him _way_ more than his money's worth. Seriously. It was good meat, but he didn't want to rob them of everything they owned! He decided that when he came back through, he would pay all these merchants honestly for what they've done for him.

A few hours passed, and he decided it was time to head back to the shops. On the way, someone did his hair up, and a florist gave him a bunch of flowers after hearing about Aisha. He had intended to pick up one or two for her, and ended up with half the cart. This was really getting annoying at this point.

He stopped by the tailor's first, figuring the clothes would be worn under the armor.

He had to admit, the outfit she had made for him looked pretty cool. And the dress for Aisha... stunning. Well, it looked exactly the same as the one on display, but still. Absolutely stunning.

The blacksmith didn't disappoint either. Though he had only made the legs, boots, and belt, it looked pretty badass. The sword was better than he expected, as well.

"Now, yer gonna find that the swords a little heavier, but I think yer gonna like it!"

He tested it out a little. "You know, I think I like it better than it was before!"

"Thought so. An' by the way, yer sister doesn't happen to by that Elesis lass, does she?"

"You know my sister?"

"Well, o' course! Thought I recognized my own handiwork afterI started workin' with it! An' well, the sword she uses was made by me, as well, not to brag."

"Well, I'll be sure to forward your regards the next time I see her!"

"Oh, an' one more thing. 'ave you already made a contract with Conwell there?"

"Contract?"

"Yep. Ye just gotta talk to Conwell a bit, make a contract, then 'e'll allow ye to summon that other sword o' his."

"I'll be sure to do that before I leave Elder, thanks!"

On his way back to the healers, several people tried to stop him and give him things, but he finally had the confidence to reject their offers. Not because he didn't want what they were offering, but because he didn't want to feel like he was stealing from them. He hoped they understood.

He finally walked into the room.

"You're late, Elsword! You said you'd... be back... soon..." Her voice trailed off. "Your hair is different."

That was what she noticed. The hair. You hear that, new sword, armor, and over sized bundle of flowers? Aisha noticed that my hair is different.

"That's what you notice..." Rena seemed to read his mind.

Aisha sighed. "How much money do you spend?"

"Uh! I-I only spent your money on the shirt, I swear! Look! Here's the change!"

"And the rest of it?"

"Ah, all gifts from some of the merchants. I swear, I didn't ask for any of it!"

"Uh huh. Sure."

Rena giggled from the chair in the corner. "You two make such a cute couple!"

"W-what? Us? A couple? No way!" They both spoke at the same time, then simultaneously pushed their faces away with their fingers.

"Okay, okay. I'll give you some time."

"Oh, and this is from the people here. They gave it to me when they heard you were injured."

"Aww, that's so sweet! Unlike you!"

Rena walked out the door, closing it behind her.

"Oh, and, I didn't want to embarrass you in from of Rena, but I also got you this." He handed her a bag from the tailor.

"Oh, real funny, Elsword. I bet it's..." She reached in the new bag, pulling the dress out. "...It's... it's a... new dress!"

"Y-you know. Since your other one is kind of, uh... blood stained."

She held it tightly, then hugged Elsword. "That's so sweet of you! I'll have to take it to get tailored as soon as I'm better."

"Actually, I had it made specifically to fit you."

"And how did you know my size, you pervert?"

"Um, I kind of stole your dress when you weren't looking. It's in the bottom of the bag."

She pulled it out. "And she stitched it up!"

"Did she? She didn't mention it to me."

"Well either way, this was very sweet of you! To think, Rena gets me a new staff, and you get me a new dress... man. I should've gotten stabbed a _long_ time ago. I mean, if I knew I'd get _this_ much free stuff!" They both laughed a bit, then she yawned, laying back down. "I'm going to get some sleep, so if you could, um..."

"Oh, right!" He got up and left the room, turning the lights out.

Add

He watched carefully as Eve replaced some of their parts, and changed the design of others. It was quite the process. To make it worse, she moved around changing various parts of it at random.

After a few hours, the connections between her seemingly random jumps became more and more clear. Just by watching, he was able to better understand which things affected each other, even if they weren't exactly connected. After she had finished the second drone, he felt ready to make upgrades to Eve's system.

"I think I understand it better now. I'm ready to make the upgrades."

"Excellent. Here is a list of all the parts within me, and here is a list of the parts I would like replaced."

"And how did you come up with this?"

"I had my system run a full diagnostics test while I was upgrading Moby and Remy. These parts had unsatisfactory results. Thus, I deemed they need replacement."

"Alright, I get it. I'll get to fabricating new ones."

"You know how to make new parts?"

"'Course I do. It's just a hassle, so I don't usually bother if I can avoid it."

"In that case, here is a list of parts I would like to..."

"Just give me this of all the parts in both of them. I'll replace it while you're in recovery mode."

"You... you know about recovery mode?"

"Of course I do! My dynamos have the same function after they've just been upgraded!"

"I see. In that case, I will assist with the fabrication of the parts."

The creation of new parts always took a long time. However, the issue now wasn't the need to produce specialty parts, so common in most Nasods, who were built for a specific purpose. It was the vast quantity of parts. The list seemed to be endless.

They were producing parts for several days, it must have been, on end. Finally, they crossed the last item off the list.

"Alright, that seems to be everything."

"That is correct. I will enter sleep mode on this table while you make your modifications."

"Sleep tight. I'll be done before you know it."

"Doubtful, but I will take your words as reassuring."

She laid down on the table, and he prepared to add his own touch to her system.

Eve

System:Exit Recovery mode

Rebooting

Reactivating systems...

New systems have been found!

Installing...

Systems installed!

New code discovered

Installing Code:Exotic...

Code:Exotic installed!

Console has been activated

Queen Type N:Record label=Entry 3

New sensory inputs have been found!

Installing...

All sensory inputs have been activated

Exiting sleep mode

She opened her eyes and sat up, looking down at her hands.

"You changed the color."

Add looked up.

"I changed a bit more than the color. See for yourself." He held up a mirror.

It was more than a simple change in the color of her hands. It was an entire change in her outfit. Instead of the long sleeved shirt and shorts she had always worn, she was now in a black dress. There was something else, too. Her hair was longer.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"Ah, well, I thought it'd be fitting, with the new addition of that code I found sealed in your core."

"New code?"

Queen Type N:Check code

Active codes:

Another

Exotic

"It was locked for some reason. When I managed to unlock it, its description was 'Queen of Destruction,' so I went with a look that more matched that."

"I see. I do not appreciate it, but I will accept the changes. Now, I must be heading off."

"Before you do, You might try this." He handed her a spear.

"A spear? It seems inefficient."

"I got the idea with the whole Queen of Destruction thing. I think you'll like it."

"What does it do?"

"It explodes."

"What use is an object that is completely useless after a single usage?"

"No, see, when it explodes, the spear remains intact."

Local;Nasods=9

"It is Nasod?"

"Gee, how'd you figure out that one?"

"Upon activating it, the local Nasod count was upgraded to 9."

"Shouldn't there be 10?"

"The count does not include one's self."

"I see. In any case, you might want to learn how to use it up above. You know. Before you accidentally blow yourself up."

"I have come to the same conclusion. I will leave upon mastering its usage."

Raven

For such an important place, there were surprisingly few guards. It wasn't exactly hard to find, either. He supposed that if you weren't looking for it, you wouldn't accidentally stumble upon it, but he was able to find it with great ease.

It was a beautiful sight, though. It was a shame that he was about to take it, especially given what would become of it once he did.

There were no guards within the temple, either. Entering the main chamber, it was just him and the priestess.

"I take it you're the priestess, then?"

"I suppose that depends on who's asking, doesn't it?"

"My name is Raven."

"So you're Raven? The one who's led countless raids using Scars forces?"

Seriously. Did _everyone_ else know who the General was?

"I have a plan to stop his madness. But what raids are you referring to? This is my first one."

"Your lies won't do you any good here, Raven. I'm prepared to use the power of the water El to defend myself!"

"Look, I don't want to do this, but I-"

She launched a heavy stream of water, catching him off guard and making him lose his balance.

"If what's all you can do, then you might as well give up now."

"Hah. Just you wait! I'll show you the _true_ power of water!"

She raised up her arms, and water started growing in a bubble around her.  
"Huh? W-what's going on? What's... what's happening?"

A tall, slender, demonic figure walked in the main entrance.

"Isn't it obvious? You're being captured."

A smaller woman looking kind of guilty walked in behind him.

"Very good, Raven. Now your orders are to return to the ship. This order comes directly from the General himself."

"If I may, why did everyone try to keep the General's name a secret from me? Surely that's an important part of an armies trust."

"Well you see, keeping his identity a secret gives us an advantage. The fewer within the army itself, the fewer possible leaks there are."

"It doesn't seem to be working. Everyone who's opposed us seems to know his name already."

"That's enough. I suggest you head back to the ship."

That told him everything he needed to know. His identity was only being kept a secret from him. But why? What happened that he couldn't be allowed to know that he was working for Scar? He would have to discuss things with the others on the ship.

On the other side of the cliff, Hamel was in flames. I'm sorry, he thought. If there was any other way, I'd have done it.

Author's comments

Me: It was at that moment

Elsword: No, stop.

Me: that Elsword know

Elsword: Don't you say it

Me: He fucked up.

Later

Me: Aww, that's so sweet, Elsword!

Elsword: Shut up!

Aisha: Yeah, who knew he had a heart!

Elsword: I said, shut up!

Later

Elsword: Oh, by the way, I'm classing up

Aisha: Me too

Rena: Me three

Eve: Me four

Me: what just happened.

Later

Me: Right, who wants to follow up Elsword?

Everyone, collectively: ...

Add: Damn, how do I follow _that_ up?

Me: Add it is

Add: Wait, was that out loud?


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Rena

She would have to leave the group for a few days. Not because she needed a break, or anything similar, but because she had made contact with the Night Savers, a group of elves who run covert operations all over Elrios. To complete her initiation, she would have to go to Eldrasil, which would take her a few days for the round trip.

"Hey, I'm going to be gone for a few days. There's… some people I need to meet up with. It shouldn't be longer than a week or so."

"What? We can't afford to wait around that long. We have to go after Wally!" Surprisingly, Elsword was the first one to speak up.

"I know, and I think you two should carry on without me. How about we meet up in Bethma?"

"Sure, but if he wave to move on, where should we meet up?"

"Hmm… I think if I miss you guys in Bethma, I'll wait for you in Velder?"

"Okay. If we move on from Bethma before a week, We won't move on from Velder."

Aisha spread her arms, and Rena went up and hugged her.

"I'll miss you."

"Geez, you say that like I'm marching off to my death! It's only a week!"

"I know, but still."

"I should get going now."

Eldrasil Wasn't overly far away, and from a distance looked like the tree the Ruben El shard was kept it. The closer she got, the larger the tree became.

Upon her approach, an arrow flew over her shoulder. She instinctively went for cover before looking around the direction the arrow came from. She saw an elf in dark clothing hiding in a tree, and fired an arrow right above their head, and it stuck into the tree.

"I trust that you're Rena, then? I've heard about your aim before. Come, we've been waiting for you."

She came out from her cover, and began following the figure. They'd been waiting for her? She never exactly gave them notice that she was coming, but was it really that obvious, or did they have other methods of finding out?

However, that didn't matter right now. What mattered is that she was going to become one of the Night Savers, and she was going to better herself with it.

Aisha

Rena didn't say where she was going. For all she knew, she _was_ going to march to her death. That's not really the kind of thing she would do, but it was still a possibility

Being stuck in bed sucked. To make it worse, she would have to stay in bed for _two more days_. What was she going to do for two whole days? It's not like she could move easily. Maybe if they found a wheelchair or something? But that opened another problem. Because she couldn't stand, she couldn't dress herself. Now sure, she was wrapped in bandages, but it would still feel weird. She wouldn't do it.

She had to find some means of entertaining herself that didn't involve getting up and walking around. That pretty much ruled out anything she could think of. Luckily, Elsword walked back in the room.

"Hey, how you doing?"

"Well, I can sit up again without pain, so better, I guess."

He sat down in the chair next to the bed. "Thought you might be board without Rena around to talk about… whatever it is you two talk about, so I thought you might like this." He pulled a book out of a bag and handed it to her.

"A theory on the manipulation of space and time through means of magic?"

"Ah, if you've already read that one, I can go back and get another one."

"No, this is great, thank you! But… why this one?"

"Ah, well… the description of what it would look like looked like the thing you did with the robot."

"Robot? You mean Nasod?"

"Huh? Nasod? What's a Nasod?"

"Didn't you pay attention during history?"

"Um, no, that was _really_ boring, so I never payed it much attention."

She sighed. Typical Elsword. Why did she expect any different? "Nasods were a race of super advanced robots. Long story short, we got into a multi-generational war with them, and wiped them all out."

"So Wally must've been doing research on them…"

"Which is why he sent Banthus to steal the El shard. He needed a power source."

"We should get this to Rena as soon as possible!"

"Oh, she already knows."

"Wait, really? How?"

"Because she payed attention in history, so she knew about the Nasod war, and was able to figure all this out on her own."

"Are you sure?"

"She told me about it."

"Oh, ah, all right then. So, uh, why don't you tell me about some of the magic stuff you've been working on?"

She perked right up. No one had _ever_ taken an interest in what it was she working on with magic. She happily went off about it.

Elsword

Honestly, he didn't understand a word of what she was saying. Maybe it was for the best that he decided not to work on his own magic, because he would be lost beyond belief. But Aisha had a huge smile the whole time she was talking, and that's what mattered. Keeping her spirits up, especially while recovering was something he thought was important.

As the day went on, he found that he understood more and more about what she was talking about, and by the time the sun had set, he was able to completely keep up with what she was saying. He was pretty proud of himself.

He looked out the window. "It's getting pretty late. I should probably let you get some sleep."

She yawned. "Um… Rena stayed with me until I fell asleep. Could you maybe stay until then?"

"Uh, sure, I guess."

Aisha rolled over and closed her eyes, which seemed to him as a good sign of her recovery, as she could roll on her side without being in pain. He waited for what seemed like an hour before checking to see if she was asleep. He put out the candled in the room and left her to sleep.

He yawned. He was pretty tired, too, but he had to clear something with Conwell. He needed to form a contract with him, or something.

He got to his room and placed the sheath on his bed.

"Hey, uh, Conwell?"

Nothing happened.

"I think I'm supposed to form a contract with you or something."

Nothing happened.

"My name's Elsword, by the way."

Still nothing happened. He sighed.

"I feel stupid talking to a sheath."

 _That's a bad sign for your contract, Elsword._

A voice came from seemingly all around him.

"Huh? Who's there?"

 _It's me. The sheath on your bed you feel stupid for talking to._

"So… you can talk?"

 _Talk? No. I can communicate my thoughts to those around me when I so choose to do so._

"And you decided to wait to talk to me… why?"

 _When you're a sheath without the ability to move on your own, you seek to create entertainment wherever it can be found. Your talk with Aisha earlier? Hilarious._

"Wait, you were listening to that?!"

 _Elsword, I've been listening to everything you've said since you were first in earshot of that stupid robot prison._

"Really? That early?"

 _Every single word._

"So, aren't we supposed to form a contract, or something?"

 _Oh, right. That. The contract. The thing that binds us. The formal agreement. That thing I'm supposed to do._

"So are you gonna give me one, or not?"

 _Look, I havn't done a contract in several hundred years. They're old, and boring. Look, why don't we just make a casual agreement? You can use my swords, and you carry me around so I can be entertained. Deal?_

"Um… there's nothing else? You're not gonna take my soul or anything, right?"

 _Now why would I do that? That would kill you on the spot. I would much rather be carried around my someone competent enough to use me. You'll do though, I guess._

"Hey!"

 _Look, take it or leave it. The only parts are the ones I presented._

"Fine. Deal, I guess."

 _Good. Now get some sleep. It's late and I'm tired._

Eve

Queen Type N: Record label=Entry 4

The spear wasn't hard for her to master. Exploding tendencies and everything. Grant, she was a super computer capable of calculating where it will end up the moment she threw it.

"That was not difficult. I will be leaving now."

"Hold on. Do you even know who you're going after?"

"Nasod Ruler. My target has not changed."

"More specific. Do you even know the individuals?"

Queen Type N: Find Nasodruler:members

No results found.

"Who are they?"

"I'll tell you under one condition. I'm going, too."

"I will not allow it."

"And why not?"

Queen Type N: Chance betrayal

9%

"… I do not trust you."

"Now, you may be a Nasod, but I can still tell when you're lying, Eve."

Queen Type N: Chance betrayal

4%

This was not working in her favor.

"My analysis of the location shows that it would be easier for a single person to access undetected."

"I's hard to do an analysis of a location you don't know about isn't it? Let's face it. You need my help to find the members in the first place. Plus, I have some… personal… things I need work out with them for now. Let's just say that, at the current moment, our interests overlap in that we want to take down Nasod Ruler."

"Fine. But you will be the bait to lure the members out."

"Actually, I have a better idea. You turn on your sight sharing feature and share it with my Dynamos. When you get eyes on the target, I'll swoop in and take him out. Does that work for you?"

Queen Type NList systems topic=sight

"I do not believe I have the feature you are referring to."

…

Vision sharing

…

"Well, maybe you've just never had the opportunity to use it. It was a pretty obvious part that I found when I was upgrading you."

"I have found it. I will set it to share to your Dynamos. Now, who is our first target?"

Add

Eve dominated the battlefield, even without the use of her spear. When she did use it, though, it was quite spectacular. It could be expected, as she was a Nasod, but that didn't change the fact that it was amazing how fast she learned. Next time, he might just go to see it in person.

He was watching comfortably from the refinery. He'd checked the coordinates before, so he was sure he could make his appearance work.

Not long after, the target left the cover to confront Eve, as expected. It was then that he made his appearance. His Dynamos formed a circle large enough for him to walk through, then the interior of the circle flashed purple before opening a portal to the location, and he stepped through.

"You know, you really should consider who you're picking fights with before fight them."

"What are you doing? This was not part of the plan!"

"Do you remember me? Do you remember how you looked when you slaughtered my family?"

The man spoke in a cold voice. "I've slaughtered a lot of families, boy. You'll have to be a little more specific."

"Then I'll just have to make you remember!" His Dynamos pinned the man to the ground, and he stepped over him, his last one glowing in his hand.

"Wait! That eye! I remember now! You're _his_ kid! You're that _monster's_ kid! You're-"

"Good, you remember. Now, that 'monster's kid' is going to slaughter you just like you slaughtered my family!" His Dynamo went through the man's chest, and the others opened a portal, making him fall through.

"Good, I didn't get any blood on me. This hoodie is surprisingly hard to clean."

"Why did you not stick to the plan? You endangered us both with your reckless actions!"

"Relax, I had the whole thing under control the whole time."

"Your chances of failure in doing that were 87%!"

"Good thing I hit that 13%, then."

"Forget it. I will move on the next target on my own."

"You mean the one you don't know?"

"I have extrapolated the remaining targets from the resources available at this site. Goodbye, Add. May we never meet again."

A message displayed on one of hid Dynamos. 'Vision sharing disconnected'

"Fine. I've done what I needed. I'm done with this miserable time, anyway."

He went back to the refinery. All he needed to do was find a power source to get back to that time. He thought for a while. An El shard would provide enough power to execute the code. All he had to do was find one.

Raven

He felt incredibly guilty about what he had just done. He had caused the city of Hamel to fall into ruin. He had to turn his back on all those people who needed help. He hoped it would all be worth it.

He returned to his room shortly after the ship had set sail. On the way, he heard some people talk about a reset, and they went quiet when he walked by. He figured what was going to happen on this trip.

"You all here?"

"Yeah, we all made it undetected. With an additional one, too." Elesis seemed to have taken charge.

A tall, slender figure in a guard uniform stood up. "Uh, that would be me."

"Fine. Here's how this is going to work. You need to get off the ship next time it pulls into a port. I won't be leaving with you."

"What? Why not?"

"They're going to reset my memories. If I see you, I won't remember you at all, so if I see you, I might end up attacking you. I likely won't return here, but if I do, make sure I don't see you."

"Will do."

There was a knock on the door, and the others all ducked to avoid being seen. He opened the door.

"Raven, you're needed in the repair bay. Be there as soon as you can."

He waited for the door to close, then spoke softly. "Chances are I'll be kept under until they need me for the next mission, wherever that is. If I'm not, avoid contact with me by any means. Understood?"

They nodded and he left for the repair bay.

"Ah, Raven, so good of you to join me. Now, as I've been made aware, you have plans to betray the General."

He looked surprised. "How much do you know?"

"Oh, I know all of it. Every last part. Including those problems you've brought on board with you. You've told them to sneak off the ship when we get to the next town, correct?"

"If I go along with your plan, memory reset and all, will you let them go?"

"Why… of course. Now, sit in the pod, if you'd please."

Ciel

There was a commotion just on the other side of the door. From the sounds of it, they had been caught. He was going to have to fight his way out.

"Elesis."

"Yeah, I hear it too. Ready your weapons, everyone. We're going to have to fight our way to the escape boats."

The guard looked at them kind of funny. "Escape… boats?"

"Shut up, I'm improvising here! I don't know what they're actually called."

Ciel leaned to the guard. "Just go with it. It's not worth it right now."

He pulled out his guns and aimed them at the door.

Lu

She had no idea if her powers would even work in this world. Ciel had his guns, Elesis had her sword and the guard… She thought the guard had a sword too, but he didn't appear to have it out.

She tried using her powers. It didn't work. She tried again. It still didn't work. There was a pound on the door. Her powers still refused to activate. The door cracked. Still no powers. The door broke down. As if on cue, her powers activated. She accessed her full demon form, lunging forward, her claws cutting through several of them at once. She then found herself surrounded, outnumbered, and by the nature of the numbers, probably outmatched, too.

Fortunately for her, she wasn't alone. The others rushed out the door and the fight began. It wasn't so much as a fight as a push to the top deck to get to the boats. The guard seemed to pick up a sword on the way. Combat wise, he wasn't doing much, but he was able to hold some of them off. She had to admire his desire to not kill others. However, their opponents didn't feel the same way, and she had to save him several times.

Elesis

It had been a rather intense fight. Their push lasted around half an hour, she figured, and they were all tired. The guard was rowing.

"Hey, maybe you should take a break, and get some rest. We can find our way when we're well rested and have the energy."

"Actually, a strong current goes by this area in about an hour or so, and if we get caught in it, we'll be miles out to sea before we have control of the boat again. You rest. I'll take care of the boat problem."

"Are… are you sure? Maybe I could help you."

"You kiddin'? You're practically falling asleep just sitting here just talking! I'll make sure we don't get stuck at sea. You all need to rest."

"What about you? I'm sure you did just as much as us."

"Well, not really. I held a couple off, but I didn't do much in the end. Let me at least do this for you."

"Okay, but only because I get your stubbornness, and I'm like that too."

She lied down and went to sleep. She dreamed about her encounter with Scar. Sure, she managed to beat him, but she couldn't finish the job. The encounter traumatized her. She had encountered an enemy vastly superior to herself, and she was very nearly killed by him. She still wasn't entirely sure how she overcame him.

The dream was a little different than usual. Rather than the place where they'd fought before, they appeared to be in a volcano. He had the El shard, and was placing it in a large orb she assumed was made from El shards. Upon placing the shard in the orb, it turned a dark purple and a giant hand reached out to grab it.

She tried to get up to stop him, but couldn't. The Red Knights were around her, and had all been slaughtered. She was dying. The ground started to shake, and a crack opened up, swallowing her.

She woke up sweating, and in a bed. Sitting up, she looked out a nearby window. She recognized the port. At first she thought it was Hamel, but quickly dismissed it. They were in Velder. Just how long had she been asleep? The others were all asleep as well.

Author's Comments

Me: Wow, Eve. You're actually doing that?

Add: Works for me!

Me: You're so insensible.

Eve: It's a hate-hate relationship.

…

Me: It was at this moment Lu knew

Elsword: Don't you say it.

Lu: Say what?

Elsword: Don't ask.

Me:…

Me:…

Me:… she f-

Me: *gets punched*


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Elsword

This was allegedly the last day Aisha had to stay in bed, and they would leave tomorrow. When he heard the thump coming from Aisha's room below him, he knew she wasn't going to have any of it. He got up and walked to her room.

"You okay? I heard that from upstairs."

"Umm… sort of?" She was lying on her back near the table.

"Still unable to walk then?"

"No, I just stubbed my toe on the table."

"…but you're on the floor…"

"I hit it really hard."

"Um…"

"S-shut up! I'm fine!"

"Let's… let's get you back in bed, then."

"No!" It was evident that Aisha was well able to walk, as she got up and ran to the corner of the room. "Never again! Never!"

"Aisha, the doctor said you need another day of rest, so get in bed!" He was getting irritated.

"You'll never take me alive!"

"I really think I will!"

He lunged from the side further from the bed, and she ran in front of it, which worked in is favor as he was able to tackle her onto the bed. With great struggle, he managed to get her entirely onto the bed, pinning her down, though she still struggled to get up.

"There! You're not going to move from this bed for another day!"

"That's what _you_ think. You can't force me to stay down like this forever!"

Their struggle stopped and they both looked over as there was a knock on the door.

"Ms. Aisha, how are you…" Aisha's face turned bright red. "Ah, I'll come back later." He closed the door.

She found the opportunity to push him off her, and used a bit of magic to push him to the other side of the room. She folded her arms and turned away, puffing her cheeks.

"Ow. You could have been a little more… gentle…"

"Oh no. You're not pinning this on me!"

"Actually, I am! You're the one who wanted to get out of bed in the first place!"

"Sh-shut up! I-I'm going to do some reading, so I'd like some privacy!"

He sighed, walking out of the room. "Fine."

She just _had_ to make things difficult. All he wanted was for her to get better faster so they wouldn't lose Wally's tracks.

"Oh! Elsword!" He hadn't noticed that he had walked past the doctor.

"Oh, doctor. Hey."

"Done already?"

"It-it wasn't like that!"

He let out a hearty laugh. "Sure, sure. How's she doing?"

"Ah, well, she seems to be just fine. She's able to run around well enough, anyway."

"Well that's good. I was going to let her go today anyway."

"Wait, really?"

"Of course! She wasn't in much pain yesterday, so I figured she was fine."

"That's great! She'll be so happy to hear that!" He rubbed the back of his head, which still hurt from when Aisha threw him. "I'll go tell her and we'll be out of your hair."

"Oh, and Elsword."

"Yeah?"

"Keep her close. Someone like her doesn't come around very often."

He blushed a little, trying to fight it. "Uhh, yeah, sure."

Aisha

The door swung open, and Elsword burst into the room.

"Aisha! Terrible news! The doc said you're free to go and that we can leave immediately if you want!"

She blinked. What just happened? She had to take time to comprehend what he had just said.

"Oh. Oh!" She leaped out of bed, grabbing her things and charging to the door. "You're right! That's so terrible! I'll wait for you in Bethma, then!"

And she ran. She ran past the border of Elder until she realized that she didn't know where she was going, and waited for Elsword to catch up. It wasn't a long time. In fact, despite her head start, he was practically right next to her.

"Uh… I don't suppose you know where to go, do you?"

"I do, actually, and this isn't the right way."

"I… I kind of figured. Lead on, I guess. No matter how much I'm going to regret saying that later."

"All right! Let's go!" As she suspected, he didn't hear that last part.

Bethma was significantly farther away. At least that's what it seemed like to her. Overnight signified that it was probably a longer trip. And it was surprisingly quiet most of the time. It was a curious thing.

When they arrived, the whole village was filled with lizards. Lizards that were walking on two legs and were as tall, if not taller, than they were. She looked over at Elsword. He didn't seem to be bothered by it one bit. She didn't understand. How could he not be weirded out by something that's kind of creepy anyway, but that was now as tall as she was? But if he was unbothered by it, then she guessed she could try as well.

"So um… who should we talk to… if anyone here can speak our language."

"Hmm… That's a good question. I hadn't given it much thought. Though I think I remember Hoffman talking about someone named… I think it was Stellar, or something like that."

"Maybe her name was Stella?" A woman spoke near them.

"Oh thank El, a normal person!" She covered her mouth, realizing that she said that aloud. "Um! I mean, We can't really be sure because _this_ idiot didn't bother to pay attention when he was being told about who we needed to meet!"

She let out a small laugh. "It's all right, Aisha. They actually take pride in being called not normal, because they've accepted that they're different. Oh! I should probably introduce myself! I'm Stella. Hoffman told me you'd be coming."

"I see. So it really _was_ his fault then!"

"I guess so. Oh, weren't there supposed to be three of you? I guess the missing person is Rena?"

"Oh, yeah, Rena. She… actually, she didn't exactly tell us where she was going, just that if she didn't get here within a week, that she would wait for us in Feita."

"I see. Well in either case, I should let you know that this isn't exactly Bethma. It's the nearby Lizardman village."

"Wait, really?" It seemed like that's what caught Elsword's attention. "Hoffman told me this was Bethma."

"You probably just went in a slightly different direction. The Desert looks almost completely the same, after all."

"Hmm… I guess."

"As for Wally, he went through a pass, but a particularly troublesome group of Lizardmen are blocking the path. You'll probably have to fight your way through them."

"Hah! I don't think that'll be a challenge at all!"

Rena

"Incredible! I've never seen anyone pass through the training program so fast!"

"Eh, if you say so, then thanks…" She bowed politely.

"Oh, come now. There's no need to be bashful about it! We knew you were talented, Rena, that's why we told the guards to let you through. I never believed that it was even possible for someone to clear through our training program overnight!"

"R-really? You're letting me join your ranks?"

"Are you kidding? Letting you near the tree without trouble was practically our way of asking! However, the more advanced training will be more difficult. Plus, you need to choose which path you would like to take."

"Path? It's not all just one course?"

"Of course not! All elves have their own talents, and we need more than just field agents. However, I think you're planning to be a trapper, right?"

"Trapper? I was thinking of being a Night Ranger."

"A Trapping Ranger is the first stage. Night Ranger is really just a title given out, rather than an actual position. Now, if you're done asking questions, we can begin training."

"Actually, I _do_ have another question. Where's my first assignment going to be?"

"I like it! Not afraid to ask questions _and_ full of confidence! I'd like to place a bet with you. Three million Ed says it'll take you more than two days to clear training."

"You're on! In fact, six says I can do it in one!"

"I'll take that bet. Be ready to pay up at the end of the day tomorrow!"

He wasn't lying when he said the training would be hard. Had she not been absolutely broke, she probably would have struggled and have taken more than two days. However, a combination of her stubbornness, pride, and absence of money gave her all the motivation she needed to complete the training in a single day. The initiation ceremony was the following morning.

"Rena, how you became a Trapper in two days, I'll never understand. You have major talent. I'm proud to have been your instructor during this time. Rena, do you swear to actively defend the world from the threats of darkness from the shadows?"

"I do."

"And do you swear your loyalty to the world first, the Rangers second, and any personal responsibilities as an afterthought?"

"I do."

"Then it is filled with pride that I bestow upon you the uniform and the honor of being a Trapping Ranger."

They bowed to each other, exchanging the uniform, and he whispered to her as they bowed.

"As well as your compensation from our little bet."

She took the uniform and turned and with that, the ceremony was over.

"Now, Rena, if you'd like to change, I believe I have the answer to the question you asked before training."

Add

Dark El was easier to come by than he had thought. To think, a quick stop by Velder, and it would be everywhere. He had grabbed more than enough samples for what he needed and headed back to the refinery to experiment.

It was surprisingly cooperative as a power source, and had very little resistance to anything. Either that, or he was just that good. Either way, he was finished quickly.

A few tests were all he needed to make sure his basic spacial calculations were correct. The difficult part would be making sure his temporal calculations were correct. But he had waited long enough. It was time for him to take back what once belonged to him. It was time for him to take back his past, and to finally be happy once again.

Eve

Queen Type N:Record label=Entry 5

She had taken down three additional members since she last saw Add. At least, three important members. She had also destroyed several factories where they produce their weapons, so as to prevent them from being able to fight back. The more she fought, the bigger she learned the organization truly was. She hated to admit it, but Add was right. She wouldn't be able to take them down on her own. However, they wouldn't be able to accomplish it even if he had decided to stay and fight with her. There were too many of them to be able to take them all down before they created a weapon that neither of them could avoid.

She had run the calculation a few days ago. Her chances of success were insignificant, so essentially zero. They weren't much higher with Add's help. However, there was a way to improve her odds. To do so, she had decided to upgrade all the hardware she could at each factory she destroyed using the leftover materials that could be found. It would probably lead to nothing, but any improvement to the odds would be something she would take.

It wasn't until much later and much progress made in eliminating Nasod Ruler that she found a sealed code within her. Something that would make her much more powerful. Something that would drastically improve her odds.

Queen Type N:Begin update

Entering sleep mode…

Beginning update…

Ain

Someone had entered his domain. Who, he wondered? Who would dare enter the domain of the Lofty Wanderer? If he deemed them a threat, he would simply eliminate them like all the others.

The Goddess Ishmael had abandoned him. His power, once fueled by his sense of purpose, his desire to help the Goddess, and his hope, now instead came from his despair of losing the Goddess and the mysterious figure Henir. Henir had helped him not disappear, and it appeared to have a drastic cost. He agreed to help the figure corrupt Velder with darkness, and when he did so, he opened the gateway for the very demons he had once fought to appear.

One of the intruders had an energy trace similar to the one he used to find Elsword, or at least how he remembered it.

"I wonder, has he made his way here? Has his search for the El taken him this far?"

It seemed to come from the docks, specifically a hotel on the docks. He went to see if it was really him. He found them at the front, stretching.

"You. Red haired girl."

She looked up at him. "Hmm? Who are-"

"Your energy trace is similar to that of Elsword. How do you know him?"

"Elsword…? You know my brother?"

"So then you are his sister. If that is the case, then I will give you an opportunity I did not give the others. Leave now, and I will allow you to keep your lives."

"Others… lives… What are you-"

"You think you are the first ones to attempt to cleanse the darkness of this town? Many have come before you, and each one fell by my hand. If you wish to see your brother again, I suggest you leave now."

"You… you killed…" She turned to the others. "Get out of here. I'll deal with this."

"You are a fool not to fight in the company of others. It matters not. I will kill you all the same."

"As a Red Knight, it is my sworn duty to protect Elrios from threats like you, even if it costs me my life!"

"You are willing to sacrifice your own life, but are you willing to sacrifice the lives of others?"

"W-what are you…"

He snapped and a dark blue-green energy glowed from the hotel, causing the whole thing to explode, along with everything in it.

"It is time you learn that you cannot save everyone, girl."

"You… you monster!"

"Your rage will be your undoing, girl!"

Elesis

Scar was the only other person she had met with as little care for life as this Ain person. She had beat him, and she would beat Ain as well. She lunged at him, but he dodged easily, striking her from the side.

"I honestly thought more of someone with your confidence. It seems I was mistaken."

He went to strike her again, but she blocked it using the fire that enveloped her sword.

"You just got lucky. I won't hold back now!"

"Do as you please. It won't make any difference."

The two of them battled through the town, and whenever she would dodge one of his attacks, something would get hit, and she would try to save the people, to no avail. It was after the first several buildings that she decided to put all of her focus to him in order to beat him and minimize casualties.

An eye the same color of his magic appeared behind him, and she assumed it meant he was about to attack, and attack he did. Several bolts came from the eye. She jumped out of the way of each.

He began to float up into the air. To her, this seemed as the ultimate taunt, saying that she wouldn't be able to so much as touch him. He began to fire more magic. This isn't a fight, she thought, this is an execution.

She centered her movements around areas that had already been destroyed so as to prevent him from damaging other buildings. However, he had figured how to lure her to where he wanted her to go. She figured out this pattern and developed a plan of attack that might just result in her victory.

She ran back into the open, and, like clockwork, he began attacking both her and the buildings, making the easiest route for her to go in the direction of the town's buildings. This time, it worked in her favor. As the building was struck, she began to make her way up the wall, leaping towards him at the last possible second in an attempt to land a strike.

"I don't think so!"

Energy exploded out from the eye, moving out in a perfect sphere, knocking her strait to the ground.

"I told you. You only delayed the inevitable."

Lu

"Is she going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine, Lu. Elesis is tough. Something like this won't stop her that easily."

"If you say so."

Elesis began to sit up, winced in pain, and laid back down.

"W-what happened?"

She spoke up first.

"You lost. Kind of badly, too."

"T-the town. L-let me-"

"Elesis, don't."

"I want to see the town!"

She looked at Ciel for confirmation, and he looked away, signaling that it probably wasn't a good idea. Lu sat her up anyway, giving her a view.

There was nothing left, not even ruins. The entire town had been leveled. Lanox no longer existed.

"No…"

Her breathing picked up.

"Elesis…"

"Damnit! No!" She let out a loud yell, then placed her face in her hands, beginning to cry.

"Elesis, you tried, and that's what matters. You saved a lot of lives because of what you were able to do. But you can't save everyone, and especially not my righteous means-"

"What would you know about righteousness?! You're just a filthy demon!" She snapped at her.

Ciel stepped forward, but Lu put her arm out to stop him.

"Let her go on. I'm curious of what she has to say."

"You people are all the same! 'You can't save everyone!' 'Some will have to die!' 'Some sacrifices are unavoidable!' 'Fighting righteously won't save everyone!' Nobody gives me the chance to prove that I'm right! And if that's the way it's going be, then I guess I can't be the great knight everyone believes me to be!" She fell to her knees, sobbing.

"If that's your choice, then that's fine." She went and sat down next to her. "But you know, I for one would like to see you pull it off, even if no one else does."

"Lu…"

"You know, Ciel lives just over in Feita. Why don't we head down there, and I can have him bake you some cookies!"

"Okay." She sniffled, and hugged her. "You're right. We should get moving."

Ciel

Lu was pushy. More so than he appreciated. Sure, she was royalty, and sure, he was technically under contract, but still. Pushy.

It was a several day walk to Feita, and it seemed to Lu that it wasn't that far before. This was made obvious by her constant complaining about how long it took to get there, and by her constant asking if they were almost there. Elesis walked up to him.

"Is she always like this?"

"You have no idea. If you think _this_ is bad, you should see her in the palace."

She tilted her head. "She gets worse?"

"Unbelievably so. However, she's getting better. Since we arrived in Hamel, she's become much more mature."

"Really? This is mature?"

"It's progress. Not much, but progress."

"I… I see."

"You haven't known her as long, so you probably don't see it. However, the things she's done since you've known her are well more mature than the ones she usually makes."

"Oh really? What would she have done before hand?"

"Well…" He thought a minute. "Both you and that guard would have lost their weapons and armor, and would have been left back in Hamel. That's what I would think she would have done."

"I… I see. Progress then."

"Progress." It was quiet for a minute, save the sound of Lu and the guard having a chat. "Feita's just over that hill. That's the chapel of the Goddess. The tower you can see."

They would soon be arriving in the darkened city.

Other World

Add

This wasn't right. His coordinates were absolutely, he was sure of it. His Dynamos read the correct time, but nothing was quite the same. His mother was alive. He was happy. The time was right, but the events were all wrong. What lunacy was this?

He didn't know what to do. This wasn't his timeline. There was no way. He fell to his knees. Why was it that the other him was happy, while he had to be otherwise? It wasn't fair. None of it was. If he couldn't be happy, then neither could this other him. He would destroy it all. This version wouldn't be allowed to exist. He would be the one to decide who was happy.

Ain

Henir had a new task for him. After his accidental destruction of Velder, he would be invading another world. Henir opened a Dark El portal, and Ain lead a group of demons to invade this world's capital.

It didn't take long before he realized he was never going to win. This world's warriors were just as capable as the ones in his own. Henir suggested he retreat, and he did just that.

Rose

"My Queen, he have fought off the enemy forces."

"And what became of their leader?"

"That coward retreated, closing the portal behind him."

"Portal? So they are not of this world?"

"Yes, my Queen. It seems that is so."

"All is well, then. We have shown them our world is defended They will not come back."

"Permission to speak freely?"

"Rose, you know you always have permission in my court."

"This was not the only attack. There was a village in the west that was attacked and completely destroyed. They will not stop their attacks. If you ask me, they're scouting locations for a larger force. If we don't take this opportunity to strike back, There might not be a second chance. We could gather our forces and-"

"Know your place, Rose!" The general cut her off. "You are an agent of the Queen, not a military commander. You have no place speaking of rallying an invasion on a foreign world!"

"General, Rose is always welcome to present an idea here."

"Then, as an agent of the Queen, I propose that I would go alone to make a few, concentrated strikes against the enemy. That would-"

"Rose, if I may." The lead agent spoke up, which was unusual for her. "You may be the Queen's favored, but that does not necessarily make you the best agent we have. But I like the idea. I could send a few of my top agents and-"

"This is preposterous!" The minister spoke up next. "You're suggesting we take action without knowing any of the laws of their world! What you're proposing could be very well against their laws!"

"It's against our laws, too." Rose muttered under her breath. The Queen shot her a glance of approval.

"With all due respect, they have violated our laws when they chose to invade our kingdom! I don't see the issue with breaking theirs in our defense!" The general, for once, sided with the agent.

"Absolutely not!" The minister stood up. "That could make matters with them worse!"

"Then what would you propose your politics would do about this, then, minister?" Rose defended her proposal.

"Shut it, Rose! I don't need to listen to someone as lowly an agent as you try to argue with me!"

She stood up. "Fine. If that's how you feel, then I resign."

This caught both the minister and the lead agent off guard.

"What?" The minister spoke hesitantly.

"If you don't want an agent going to fight, then consider this my formal resignation." She ripped the seal off her shirt and slammed it on the table. "Now I'm no longer an agent. That means I don't need the consent of anyone in this room to go." She started walking out of the room.

The Queen slammed her hands on the table and stood up. "Enough! All of you! I will not sit idly by and listen to you belittle the only honest and trustworthy person in this room. Rose, sit down!"

The room went quiet and Rose sat back down.

"Rose is right. A single person could do more damage than several. For their laws, they have broken ours, so it is only fair that we retaliate without regards to theirs."

"I will gather my top agents and you can choose which you will send."

"There's no need. I have already chosen."

"My lady, Rose is no longer an agent."

The Queen turned her head to Rose. "Rose, how would you like to go on a mission at my special request?"

The room was quiet and all eyes were on her.

"I… I would love to, your majesty."

"Good. Meet me here in an hour."

"With all due respect, your majesty," The agent spoke up again. "The council needs to-"

"Julianne, I am your queen! I have made my decision, and you will respect it, understood?"

She grumbled. "Yes, your highness."

"Good. Now, this council is dismissed. Rose, don't wonder too far."

They other three got up and left the room, closing the door behind them.

"Should I…"

"No, Rose. Understand that I gave an hour for a reason. With that in mind, you need to have left the city in that time."

"What? Why?"

"In an hour, the others will return with support of you not leaving. What I said about you is true, including even me. Now, my court mage will open a gateway to this world. He started finding traces as soon as samples came in. Do not return until you are certain the threat was been eliminated."

"Understood. I will be on my way, then."

"Remember, with this act, we are committing treason against the council and can both be executed. Speak to no one who seems even remotely suspicious. Understood?"

"Of course. Now, if you'll excuse me, your majesty, I need to… get some fresh air."

Authors Comments

Me: Surprise! I have a part for you!

Rose: …wut?

Me: You're in the story now.

Rose: Uh, okay I guess. Let me get ready first.

Ain: What was the purpose of those like, two lines of me in the other world?

Me: Convenient Plot Device

Ain: …I hate you.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Elsword

The pass wasn't very far from the village. The problem was their numbers. There were a huge number of them, and they were all aggressive. They must have spent hours fighting them off.

"Aisha, I don't know that he can just fight our way through this. We may need to fight a little smarter."

"You think?" She was starting to look a little tired herself.

"We should head back, maybe see if we can come up with a better idea."

They hadn't made it half way back when they were stopped by Stella.

"Stella! What are you doing here? It's dangerous this far out!"

"It's the village! Something happened, and they all became aggressive! I… I don't know what happened!"

"Calm down. Why don't we head to Bethma, and get something to eat while we come up with a plan for what to do next?"

"Uh, yeah, okay."

Bethma wasn't far away, but it was something of a walk. They sat down at a café near the entrance.

"So what actually happened before they attacked you?"

"I… I don't know. It… it was like they were… possessed or something."

"Possessed?" Aisha chimed up. "If it's a possession, I might be able to help with it."

"Really? How?"

"Well, if I can find something that might be causing it, I'll be able to find a counter spell that would free them from its influence."

"Really? How long would that take?"

"Hmm… I could probably get it done by the morning if I get my samples tonight."

"Tonight… they'll probably be asleep. It'll be the easiest time to sneak in."

"Tonight then. We'll get this sorted out. Don't worry."

Their food arrived and they started to eat.

Aisha

This kind of stealth wasn't exactly her specialty. Nor was it Elswords, apparently. If Rena were here, she'd give them a long lecture on how poor their stealth was. But she wasn't so they'd have to get by on their own.

As expected, they were pretty noisy. She'd have to admit, Rena was actually a big part of their group. They were pretty sure everyone knew they were there by the time they reached the center, and their suspicions were confirmed when a large one with war paint was waiting for them. It spoke in an eerie voice.

"You're so predictable."

"What do you mean, predictable?" Elsword attempted to defend them.

"My warriors have been able to predict where you would go before you knew yourselves since that fool Banthus stole the El shard."

"What? So you're the one who wanted it stolen?!"

"Heavens no. I'm only following orders from the big one on top."

"Wally…"

"And I see the elven brat hasn't returned yet. Oh well. We'll get her soon enough."

"You know about Rena?!"

"You're not bright, are you? Would you explain it to him, mage?"

She turned to Elsword. "She was also part of the party, so they would have been tracking her, too."

"I see. Even so, lizard, tell your men to stand down and we can end this with as few casualties as possible!"

"Really? You're going to challenge all of us at once? Why don't we start a little smaller, you two versus me?"

"Hah! You're going down!"

"Amusing. You think you actually have a chance of beating me. I'll show you what mastery of the art of stealth looks like!" He stepped down from the platform when a green arrow came down, landing next to his foot. He swore under his breath.

She looked up to where it would have come from.

"Rena?"

Rena

She had been waiting on that rooftop for hours on end waiting to get just the opportunity to take that warning shot. She was probably sunburned, especially on the back of the neck. She was also unsure if she was able to get up. It was hard enough shooting a bow lying down, let alone probably sunburned after having not moved for some time.

She stood up. Yep, definitely sunburned. She took aim again, and he turned towards her, raising his swords. Elsword, as expected, took the hint and ran forward to attack. The creature jumped to the side to avoid both attacks. She was hoping they could figure out what to do without her having to give away any sort of plan to the lizard.

As if on cue, Aisha ran around to the other side, effectively trapping the lizard between the three of them. Elsword ran towards it, and it made a leap at Aisha.

"I don't think so!" She gathered a ball of mana and launched it at the lizard, sending it flying back.

Rena took the opportunity to fire her arrow, ensuring the lizard wouldn't be able to get up, and slid down the roof to meet her friends. Yep, definitely more than just her neck.

Aisha was the first to greet her.

"Rena!"

She found herself hugged by the girl. It was _definitely_ more than just her neck.

"Umm, Rena? Your entire back is red." Elsword was waiting awkwardly from a distance.

"Well, what do you expect? I was waiting on the rooftop the entire day for a specific shot that never really came!" She smiled back at him.

"So Rena, that outfit…" Aisha started.

"Ah, this? I got it when I became a trapping ranger from the elves at Eldrasil!"

"It's a little, ah…" Elsword turned his head away.

"Different? Yeah. It's not exactly what I used to wear."

"I was going to go with revealing, but, yeah, different works too."

"Oh, ah, well… We're not exactly meant to be seen in this. You know. Complete the mission and head straight back, that sort of thing."

"So… will you be heading back to… wherever it is you went, then?"

"Actually, my mission is to bring down the demons, and I got permission to do so with you two!"

"Demons?"

"Yeah, apparently they're having problems a little ways south. I'm going to help you guys recover the El shard first, then we'll head south, if you two want to come with me."

"Well, I guess that means we're back together, then!" He went up to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. "It'll be fun! Ah, sorry!" he took his hand off her shoulder, remembering her sunburn.

"It's fine. Anyway, we should get going. I need to see someone about getting this healed before it starts blistering."

"Wait!" Aisha suddenly remembered something. "We need to check for something causing them to act this way!"

She and Elsword looked at her.

"Well? No one's stopping you." Rena spoke up.

"W-what? You want me to do it?"

"Well, you brought it up."

"No! Absolutely not! I'm not going to go up to that… _thing_!"

She and Elsword looked at each other before he spoke up.

"Aisha, are you afraid of lizards?"

"W-what? No! I- I just…"

Rena shook her head and started walking to the body. "Fine, I'll do it."

She began looking for something that might cause it before she found something out of place.

"That's odd."

"What is it?" Elsword called out.

Rena walked back. "It's nasod."

"Wally…"

"But that means that he's still around here. Stella said they weren't like this until this afternoon." Aisha pointed out.

"Hmm… the only place he would have been able to avoid being seen by someone is the abandoned mines… but it's late, and we're probably too tired to fight, so let's head back to town."

Rose

Going through the portal made her surprisingly tired. She found herself with no light at all, and the echoes in the area told her it was either somewhere with high roofs or a cave. She suspected the latter.

"Hello?"

Her voice echoed for quite a while, telling her the cave was probably very large. She stood up and searched her belt for a match and promptly lit it. It wasn't much help, but it did confirm that she was in a cave.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

There were no sounds except for the echoing sound of her voice. She decided to follow the tunnel. It went for quite a ways, and as she continued, she began hearing things. She couldn't always tell what they were, but she knew they were unnatural.

As she continued, she began hearing something she _could_ recognize. The sound of a pickaxe striking a rock. However, there were no responses whenever she called. There was also another thing. She felt like something was following her. Whenever she turned around, however, there was nothing there. Not that she could particularly tell from the match light, but it was still a strange feeling.

"I know you're there!"

Nothing. She stopped shortly after to the feeling of something reaching out to her. She pulled out one of her pistols, and fired a shot, the flash illuminating the cave for a fraction of a second. Still nothing. Maybe the portal had made her delirious. Maybe she was going crazy. She realized she was not when something cold struck her up top the head, knocking her unconscious.

Ain

He had failed. He knew that the General would probably kill him for this, but he decided to stay anyway. He knew General Scar well. Henir had introduced them, though in an abstract way. He had put made them familiar with each other directly through their memories. It was strange.

However, Henir then appeared before him.

"Ain, your time working for these demons has ended. I have another task for you."

"Another task? What is it this time?"

"Another one of my minions, Solace, is in need of help claiming Elysion. Complete this mission, and I will reward you with more of my power."

"It will be done, reward or no."

Elysion was quite far from where he currently was, and would be difficult to access without the blessings of the priestesses. However, he was certain there was a way around it. After all, if this Solace figure could get in, he could too.

Add

What had gone wrong? His coordinates were right, they had to be! And yet, he still ended up in that… wrong place! He proceeded to try again, over and over again, having the same result each time.

"It couldn't be… I can't return to my own past?! What kind of nightmare is this!?"

He broke down on the floor of the refinery and began to weep.

Eve

System:Rebooting…

New code found!

Activating Code: Nemesis…

Activated

Initiating Blackbox…

Blackbox initiated

Activating systems…

Queen Type N:Record label=Entry 6

All systems activated

Queen Type N:Count target=NasodRuler,members

1,841 targets found

Queen Type N:showmap results

…

She began hunting. There would be no survivors. She would eliminate them all. The people who destroyed her people would be destroyed. She was certain she would succeed.

Ciel

"Lu, we need to talk."

"Is it about making cookies?"

"No, it's-"

"Then I'm not interested."

"Lu, this is serious!"

"So are cookies!"

"Lu, Scar knows we're here! He's opened a portal on the top of the tower and will soon be sending an army here to kill the both of us!"

"Ciel, we have an entire city on our side, plus Elesis and that guard! And besides, we've dealt with large, armed groups of people before. There's no way they can stop us!"

He sighed in frustration. "Lu, that puts an entire world against one small town. We wouldn't be able to hold off against them even if the entire town were to come and fight!"

"Ciel, I really don't think they know we're here. It seems to me that they started in Velder and are attacking cities and towns around that. If you ask me, it's just a coincidence. But if you're really worried about it, we can probably just slip out of town unnoticed. Just know that wherever we go, they'll eventually find us."

He sighed again. "Fine. We'll stay here. I'll go tell the others."

He went to the others, but not for the reason he told Lu. He had to get them to do something while they still could.

"You two. We need to talk about the current situation."

Elesis looked over first. "Yeah? What about it? Do you not have enough room for all of us?"

"It's the tower. Scar's opened up a portal and an invasion is on it's way."

"That's… not good."

"I'll get Lu." The guard stood up.

"No," Ciel stopped him. "She's against us taking action. Whatever we decide to do, she can't know about it."

"Then I think Elesis and I should go up there and stop it."

They both looked at him.

"Ciel, you know how to handle Lu better than any of us, so you could probably convince her that we just stepped out for a bit. Not entirely a lie, but not exactly the truth."

"That's… not a bad plan, actually." Elesis spoke in agreement. "It's better than anything I would have come up with."

"Then it's settled. You two will go close the portal, and I'll make sure Lu doesn't catch on to what you're doing."

Elesis

They slipped out of the house without any trouble and headed towards the tower. She could see why Ciel was concerned. The tower was literally on the edge of town. There was something that struck her as odd, though. The tower was a temple to the goddess. So how then were the demons able to capture and corrupt the tower? This thought would linger in her mind as she made her way up the tower.

However, before she could climb, she would first have to go through the underground chapel and the tower gardens. The chapel would be first. When they arrived, they found the chapel was already occupied by more than a handful of demons. They would have to fight their way through

"You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

As they fought, the tower seemed to be literally falling down around them, but none of the demons seemed particularly bothered by it. After they fought through several hallways, they eventually reached the worship hall. Entering, they found two demons performing a ritual. Odd, Elesis thought, that they wouldn't just use the portal at the top. Moments later, she found out why. It wasn't a demon they were after, it was a spirit. A few pieces of armor connected with purple clouds rose from the center of the circle, and immediately began attacking them.

"I don't know anything about this thing," Elesis warned, "but don't breathe in the gasses. I'd wager they're toxic."

This would make it difficult for the both of them, as they both fought close range using swords. Well, Elesis would adamantly call her weapon of choice a claymore, not a sword. Either way, she wasn't fond of using magic, so they'd have to use extreme caution when going in for an attack.

To make matters worse, the spirit, if she could still call it that, left a short trail of fumes as it moved, and, as she discovered not so pleasantly, it could also conjure the toxic gas.

"We have to finish it, and we have to finish it fast!" The guard commented.

Way to state the obvious, she thought. "Right!" She lunged into an attack, holding her breath as she did, so as to not breathe in anything it might use against her.

It was evidently not designed to actually be struck, and one attack and it fell to pieces, and all the gas dissipated.

"Huh. I thought it'd be harder than that. In any case, we don't have time to waste. Let's go!" She caught herself saying the obvious now. It must be contagious.

They continued fighting their way through the tower to reach the gardens. Apparently, they had found a way to turn the plants as well, as three massive ones came up and began attacking. This was an enemy they would both be comfortable fighting. As such, it took them no time at all to clear away the aggressive plants.

From there, it was smooth sailing to the top, with the most difficult part being a combination of avoiding falling rocks and releasing massive pillars that she assumed allowed one to teleport between floors, as that's what they did after releasing them. All that was left was to close the portal at the top, and that wouldn't be much of a chore.

Lu

Ciel had taken her out to get some snacks when she saw a large crowd mumbling to themselves.

"Hey, what's going on here?"

"A massive portal opened on top of the Holy Tower and demons are pouring out of it!"

Someone else pointed and shouted "Look! The Red-Haired Knight's up there! She's come to save us!"

There was various cheering from people in the crowd. She turned to Ciel.

"Ciel, I thought you were going to tell them we weren't going to do anything."

"About that. Think about it. This works out for us. The portal gets closed, and if they didn't already know we're here, they won't find out."

"Well, I'm not going to miss out on combat action, so I guess we'll have to go any way."

"Are you sure? Lu, we worked out an arrangement where you wouldn't have to get involved."

"Ciel, you went behind my back and directly disobeyed my orders. Because of that, we're going to march up that tower and help them, whether or not you want to!"

"Well, I guess that works."

With the tower having already been cleared, it took them almost no time at all to catch up to the others.

"You didn't _really_ think that you were going to close this thing without me, did you?"

"Lu?" Elesis sounded surprised. "I thought-"

"Yeah, yeah. I changed my mind when you went behind my back and came here anyway. Now, let's get this portal closed!"

Just then, a massive demon stepped forward out of the portal.

"So. The troublesome bunch think they can stop this invasion, so they?" It spoke with a low, grumbly voice.

"Berthe… I thought you died long ago!" Lu growled.

"You though someone as pathetically weak as you would be able to kill me? You were wrong! Now I'm going to crush you once and for all, Luciela Sourcream!"

Elesis glanced over at Lu. "Your last name is Sour Cream?"

"That's what you're worried about now?"

"Hey, I'm not exactly wor-" She was cut off as the demon struck her with his claws, sending her crashing against a pillar. "Heh. I think I felt that one!" She was slammed again, being knocked unconscious.

"Elesis!" Lu ran after her, narrowly avoiding getting hit by the massive demon.

"Lu, watch out!" He jumped in front of her, blocking his hand with one arm, and shooting it with another. There was something different about Ciel. He seemed almost… demon-like.

The beast roared in pain for a short time, until Ciel shot it in the head, killing it and sending it falling to the ground. No normal bullet Lu knew of that Ciel would have could do that. There was definitely something strange with him. He kept shooting it.

"Ciel! That's enough! He'd dead."

He transformed into a more human appearance, the same way she could. It was then clear to her that he had become more demon with his time spent with her.

She walked over to the awakening Elesis. "You okay?"

She groaned. "Bethma."

"…What?"

"Bethma. We need to go to Bethma."

"That's… why?"

"I… I can't really explain it, but… he's there. My brother. He's there, I know it."

"Elesis, are you sure you're okay? I mean, you hit your head pretty hard."

"I know what I saw, Lu!" She stood up. "Come or don't, I don't really care. I'm going to see my brother in Bethma." She started walking back down the tower.

"Then we're coming, too."

Ciel spoke up. "We are?"

"Of course! She's not about to run off on another adventure without us!"

Elesis gave them a thumbs up as she kept walking.

"Hey, aren't you going to wait for us?"

"Nope!"

"Well, we should at least talk about the plan first!"

"If you have time to talk, you have time to get moving!" She took off in a run.

She sighed. "She's going to get herself killed like that."

Chung

First, his father goes missing. Then, the city falls to a demon invasion. Next, the water temple is claimed by those same demons. All that was left was himself and a few members of the guard.

Their biggest problem was that they didn't have any sort of 'home base.' There was nowhere left for them to stay for any length of time. They had to fight every so often in order to secure their next resting place. Everyone was tired.

"Everyone, I know you're tired, but we have to keep moving!" He offered some encouragement.

"Give it up, Chung. We're finished. It's only a matter of time before they take us all down."

This really got on his nerves. "Fine! Those of you who want to keep living like this, constantly in search for a new place to rest, being picked off one by one, stay here and wait for death to come for you! Anyone else, come with me. I have a plan."

He went out of earshot of the rest of the guards, and turned around. He was surprised to find only two had followed him. "That's it? There's no one else?"

"With all due respect, sir, the others don't believe any good will come from following you. We all followed you this far, and we haven't made any real progress in taking back our city."

"And you follow me, still?"

"Your first idea didn't work, that's for sure. But even so, almost all of the higher ups failed their first few attempts at mobilizing units. You just need experience."

"Then I thank you for your loyalty. Now, I trust you're familiar with the sewers?"

"They're filled with the demons." He nodded.

"There's a section they wouldn't be able to find. One entrance is near the docks, which we can't get to right now. The other is near the town hall."

"Which we _can_ get to."

"Exactly."

"But why not tell the others about this?"

"I was going to, before they quit on me."

"They quit on you because they didn't have anything left worth fighting for."

"Even if, they shouldn't have given up on their job, which is to protect everyone in the city at all costs, even if that happens to be their life."

"I understand. Let's go claim the docks!"

Author's Comments

I've never struggled to write a chapter as much as this one.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Aisha

The mines weren't much father from the village. From the outside, it seemed to her to be just another cave. Had they not been lead there, she would never have suspected that it was a mine.

"It's… dark." She broke the silence.

"Yeah. Aisha, could you maybe make a light?" Rena requested.

"Um… let's see." She tried a few things before she eventually succeeded in creating a light for them.

"Thanks, Aisha." She started to walk in, and Aisha followed her.

For the first few minutes in the cave, it seemed like there was nothing in the cave at all. It was perfectly dark, save for her light, and no sound other than the sound of their footsteps.

However, they eventually started hearing the unmistakable sound of a pickaxe striking stone. From the distance, something glistened.

"Hold up." Rena stopped them, drawing her bow. She fired a single arrow at it. The sound of metal striking metal resounded through the cave. "It's definitely Nasod."

The sound of the pickaxe stopped, and the gleam came closer.

"Get ready for a fight!"

Aisha created another ball of magic and launched it at the robot. There was a crash, and then silence. The three looked at each other, expecting something to happen, but nothing did.

"That's it?" Elsword broke the silence. "No group?"

Rena shook her head. "It was too easy. There's got to be something at work here."

"So… should we keep going, then?" Aisha was confused by the one alone.

"Yeah, I guess." Rena shrugged and they proceeded into the darkness.

Rena

There were very few of them at all, and none really stood in their way. In what seemed like no time at all, they reached the other end of the tunnel.

"That… that can't be right."

"I agree," Elsword nodded, "Maybe we missed something?"  
"Yeah… maybe we should go back? Look a little closer?"

"There's nothing here, so it's worth a look." Aisha agreed.

They went back in, being careful to check every wall and search anywhere that might seem like they would have missed it. It was long and tedious, but she had to make sure there wasn't some small tunnel they may have missed on their way through. About half way through the tunnel, she heard a voice.

"Get back! Aisha, turn out the light!" She ordered in a hushed tone.

Aisha nodded and the light went out. She listened carefully.

"I just don't understand! How could someone do this to my precious Nasods?"

"Wally…" Rena spoke quietly.

She stepped out to get a look. He had a torch, making him visible. She drew her bow, took a breath, and fired an arrow. It went a hair's breadth by his cheek.

"Wally! By the Order of the Night Ranger's, you are hereby under arrest for the theft of the Ruben El Shard!"

"Ah, you must be that 'El Search Party' I've heard so much about! Well, you're not going to catch me that easily!" He turned around, dropped the torch and ran.

"Hey! Stop! I have permission to kill you if you don't comply!" She ran after him, leaving the others behind.

The tunnel was much longer than she remembered it being on her way through. However, now that she was having to run all the way through it (well, half way, at least), she realized how long the tunnel really was. When she stepped into the light at the other end, she was gasping for air.

She suddenly heard Elsword's voice beside, also gasping for air. "Is… is that… Elesis?"

She looked up, and saw her standing there, holding Wally.

Elesis

She had figured that if this guy was running from Elsword, he probably wasn't a good guy. Either way, he was short enough that she could pick him up, though he was really heavy for his size.

"Rena? What are you doing here?"

"What… what does it… look like?" she was clearly out of breath. "I'm helping… Elsword," she took a few deep breaths, "restore the Ruben El Shard."

"Restore the El Shard? What happened to it?"

Aisha came running up next. "It was stolen by that guy!"

"Huh? This shrimp managed to steal the shard?"

"Tch. Don't think it's over just yet!" The man struggled in her grasp. He was _really_ heavy for his size.

Just then, Elsword came out of the cave. "Elsword…!"

"Elesis? What are you doing here? I thought you went to see the world!"

"I'm looking for you, of course!"

"Oh, really? How'd you know I was here?"

"Sister instincts." That was the best way she could describe it.

Just then, the guy they were chasing slipped out of her grasp, landing on the ground with a large thud, and started to run.

Rena drew her bow and fired an arrow at him. A loud ring sang out as the arrow struck the shard he had used to block it. Everyone stopped moving as the ring resounded across the valley, followed by a sickening crack as the shard began to glow and the shard began to crack.

"Everybody run!" At this point, everyone around her knew her well enough to take her warning, and started running. Not long after, the shard exploded, releasing a huge amount of energy, destroying the surrounding area.

The burst of energy reached the party in seemingly no time at all, and the ground started to crack and break below their feet. Just before the energy dissipated, she heard a yell from behind her.

"Elesis!"

She turned around. "Elsword!" He had started to fall into the newly created abyss. She ran to the now defined edge and reached out her hand, tears welling up in her eyes as he fell just beyond her grasp. Time seemed to pass slowly as she watched her brother, Rena, Aisha, and the guard fall to their inevitable deaths in the darkness below.

Lu

A shadow came across Elesis' face as she stood up, slowly walked over to a nearby cliff, and slumped down, resting her face in her knees, arms wrapped around herself. She felt really bad for her, and decided to sit next to her.

"Elesis, I-"

"His name." She cut her off.

"…What?"

"His name! I never knew his name!"

"Elesis…" She thought a moment, before realizing that she didn't know his name either. He had never told them his name. To them, he had always been known simply as 'the guard.' She had no name to attach to the face of her newest friend. "Elesis, I'm really sorry."

"Sorry for what?!" she snapped. "Sorry that you didn't try to do anything?! Sorry that you didn't know any of them?! You can't possibly understand how I feel right now!"

"I may not have known the others, but I knew that guard just as well, if not, better than you did! You have no right to tell me that I don't understand how I feel! If anything, you don't understand how I feel! You haven't lost your entire world because of one person's hunger for power! Just try and tell me you know what that feels like! Go ahead! Try it!"

"I don't think you get it, Lu! Your world was your actual world! Mine was my brother, and now he's gone! You had to leave, but you could come back when this is all over! I can't!" Tears welled up in her eyes. "Elsword's dead and he's never coming back!"

Lu looked away. She knew she couldn't refute that. Her world would always be there. But she knew that once life was gone, there was no bringing it back. She sighed in defeat.

"Fine. You're right. I _don't_ know what that's like. But I know the hopeless feeling you have, and you need to learn how to get past it. Ciel was there for me, and I'm here for you."

"You're wrong about that, Lu. I _don't_ need to move on. What I _need_ is to get piece of mind. I don't live for the people anymore. I live for the dead."

Ciel

He hadn't listened to their conversation. It wasn't his business. Whatever had happened, Elesis had made a decision. They would find where it is the man with the shard had come from.

After going through the surprisingly dark tunnel, what could only be described as an airship could be seen in the distance. Assuming this was where the guy had come from, they would decide to sneak on board and find whoever it was that was behind the stealing of the shard.

Chung

Getting on to the beach through the tunnels undetected had been fairly simple. What was less so was what came next. The beach was crawling with demons and strange, but obviously defensive structures, most of which rested on the wall separating the port from the rest of the town.

Being cut off from the town, by the wall on one side and mountains on the other, the port would provide an easily defensible location to provide them with a foothold with which to begin retaking their city. Their plan was to strike in three places at once. The guards would each start fighting on each end of the dock to draw attention, while Chung would enter the wall to secure the weapons and turn then against the city should they be unable to defend the wall. However, this would only be possible if all three succeeded in their task. A risky move, but it was the best option if they wanted to succeed.

The biggest challenge of the whole operation wouldn't be fighting them off, but rather getting into position without being seen. Their solution was to sneak through the storage outlining the wall, as there were enough paths to cover their movements. Unsurprisingly, however, they had guards patrolling the area. This would provide a challenge in that being caught would mean there's no escape route, as they would be in an enclosed area, and within minutes demons could swarm from all around them. This knowledge didn't change their situation. They would still have exactly one chance to get it right, and any mistake could prove fatal for the entire group.

They plunged into the maze of crates, taking careful notes of both the guard paths and any possible hiding place for a body if things didn't quite work out. Though there were several close calls, they fortunately managed to make it through undetected, and they both managed to make it to the pier without being seen.

On his way back to the gate, however, Chung was less fortunate. One of the guards took a different path than he had expected, and saw him. Thinking quickly, he remembered a potential hiding place nearby, pulled out his pistol, and shot the demon before it could raise an alarm. He then realized that after that gunshot, there would be several nearby that could see him, so he would have to move fast. He was fortunate once again that he was able to hide both himself and the body without being seen.

He was able to slip away, and, due to the attention in the one area, was able to begin his assault immediately when he reached the gate. Being in a closed space, combined with his choice of path, meant that all he really had to do was keep shooting in front of him. In almost no time at all, he was able to completely take the interior of the wall, and it was then only a matter of defending it until the others could complete their parts.

There wasn't much waiting needed until the demons in the port were spread thin and the ones outside retreated from heavy losses. Against all predictable odds, they had liberated the beach from the demon occupation of Hamel. The demons would return, he was sure of it. However, the gate would bottleneck them, and as long as they secured the sewer entrance, which was also a bottleneck point, they would have no problem keeping this place as a sort of home base for the liberation of Hamel. There was just one problem: There were only three of them

Eve

Queen Type N:Record label=Entry 7

Queen Type N:Show remaining,targets

453/1841=24.6% remaining

With the help of the new code within her, she was able to swiftly eliminate most of her targets. It had been three days, and the code pushed her hardware to its extreme limits. Using parts taken from her targets, she built on to what was already there.

She had decided on wings. With these new wings, she would be able to fly, seeming to be a more much difficult opponent, which, giving her a new dimension with which to plan her movements, she was.

Checking her remaining targets, she hesitated. Most of the remaining few were not directly involved, but rather relatives of those who were. She processed the decision while taking out the remaining targets.

Eventually, she came to a conclusion. She would kill the remaining targets. An eye for an eye. A life for a life. Genocide for genocide.

Queen Type N:Locate targets

Searching…

All targets found

Location=Altera Village

Perfect. The place they had done their wrong doing would be the place they would finally pay the price for their crime.

Add

~Missing~

Rose

She opened her eyes to a blur. Her head was throbbing. In front of her, she could see a bright, orange light, with two shining silver lights from either side of it. The only sound she could hear was that of a fire burning.

Eventually, her senses came into focus, and she could tell more about the situation. Her arms were bound by her sides, and she could barely reach her guns. She was tied to a wooden post in what she assumed to be the center of the room. There was a fire burning in front of her, and two metal things standing next to it, and a rod in the fire.

"Well, it seems you're back, girl." A voice came from nearby. "I heard from my Nasods that they captured an intruder, and it seems they don't disappoint."

"Who are you?! What do you want from me?!"

"I'm afraid I'll be asking the questions, dear." A short man walked in front of her, and grabbed the metal pole out of the fire, the tip glowing a bright white. "I couldn't care less who you are. How did you find this place?"

"What? What do you mean 'how did I find this place?'"

"You're right, that's obvious. The mine's not very well hidden. Allow me to rephrase that. How did you get past all my guards without being caught?"

She glared at him. "Well, I didn't. I clearly _was_ caught."

"You know what I mean, girl. The section of the mine you were found in was sealed off. How did you get in?"

He seems to not be good at interrogating, given that he just told her two important things. "It was wide open. I don't remember where. I couldn't really see."

"You're not a very good liar, girl. You should at least check the minor details before you get caught." He held the white-hot tip of the metal near her skin, and she could feel it hovering nearby. "Now I'll ask you again. How did you get in that chamber?"

Another piece. "The back entrance of the tunnel. I set up a tunnel leading there, and used it to get in."

"Back entrance? So you saw the ship, then?"

"Ship? Yeah, I guess there was something like that."

"And I suppose you'd describe that ship for me?"

"No."

The hot pole made contact with her skin, and she let out a yelp in pain.

"Let me rephrase that. You're going to tell me what that ship looked like."

"I don't know… I didn't get a good look at it."

"I suppose that works as well. That will be all for now."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Elesis

They had to move on, and she was aware of that. She would move forward. For her brother. For the guard. For the people of Velder. For everyone who's died because of her. Lu was right. She couldn't save everyone. But she could save everyone she could, and avenge those she couldn't.

Their plan, she decided, would be to go after the one who was responsible for Elsword's death. The person they were pursuing probably wasn't the real person, she decided, since he was far too heavy to be a person. A nasod was the most likely answer. However, she couldn't care less what it was. She was more focused on taking down the person behind it.

They had run quite some distance from the cave Elsword ran out of. She hadn't realized it until they had walked all the way back, having to go around the massive crater created by the explosion. An exit to the cave could be seen from the top of the cliff they stood on, and not much farther in the ocean was a ship, similar to the one in Hamel. With that kind of a similarity, it must be the one responsible for stealing the shard.

Eve

Queen Type N:Record label=Entry 8

Queen Type N:Execute protocol=Void

Loading…

The Void Protocol was a plan come up by Adam, the king nasod, to eliminate all non-nasod life on Altera if there was no alternative. First, all nasods would group up and attack any human settlements in the continent…

Beginning siege target=Altera,Village

Ideal strike location calculated

Nasod,spear settings updated

Preparing to launch…

…and they would all be destroyed.

She threw the spear, and it landed directly in the center of the village, creating a massive explosion that swallowed the entire village. She killed anything, human or otherwise, that fled the village.

Phase 1=complete

Beginning Phase 2…

Phase 2 would turn all of Altera into a massive weapon. Phase 3 would activate it.

Lu

This ship was almost exactly like the last one, except that it wasn't. Chiefly, everything on the ship, including the ship itself, was trying to kill them. There were mercenaries, nasods, and an unexplainably convenient set of cannons and turrets placed over the ship as if they were expecting intruders.

Reaching the top deck, they could see Altera in the distance. In front of them was a mercenary with black hair and a red streak in it. Raven was here.

"Raven!"

He turned around. "I don't know who you are, but don't think you'll be able to stop me just because you could get this far!"

"Raven, it's us! It's Lu, Elesis, and Ciel!"

He looked around at them. "Thanks. Now I know the names of the people I'm about to kill!" He lunged out at them.

She stepped to the side, and Elesis stepped in front of him, blocking his arm with her sword.

"Sorry, Raven. You're not going to kill anyone today." She struck him with the back of her sword.

Chung

Holding the port was an easy task, especially with small groups of survivors finding their way in. There were a few groups with about a dozen people in each, making the numbers rise swiftly. Though with all these groups, his original group never came back.

At the current moment, something else caught his attention. The rivers were rising. Namely, the ones sourcing from the Water Temple. This could only mean that something's happened to the priestess, which, now that he thought about it, wasn't all that surprising.

He announced where he would be going, and left alone for the temple, hoping that it was all just a coincidence, but knowing that it probably wouldn't be.

Raven

He woke up in a grassy plain, with no memory of how he got there. The last thing he remembered was being taken to the ship back in Hamel, but there was no telling how much time had passed since then.

Looking around, he saw a mountain in a spiral shape in the center, with a black tower rising from the center of it. Then he saw the people he had met in the city.

"Elesis? Where are we? How did we get here?"

She looked over at him. "You remember who you are now?"

He looked confused. "Remember? Did I forget?"

"It seems so. You didn't even recognize us on the ship."

"The ship? I met you on the ship?"

"Yeah, the flying one that brought us here."

"Flying ship…" He realized they must be on Altera. He'd heard of it before. A massive island floating in the sky, with a strange nature about it. He never thought it was real, though.

"As for where we are, it's a place called-"

"Altera."

She paused. "I thought you didn't know where we were."

"I figured it out when you said we flew here."

"I see."

"You seem different. Did you do something to your hair?"

"My hair? I suppose I haven't really done with anything. Not even putting it back up."

"The others seem different as well. What happened to them?"

"Well… I think they could explain it better than I could."

Lu looked up. "You're really you this time, right? You're not going to attack us?"

"Why? Did I do something on the ship?"

"Well, you kind of attacked me. I was able to get out of the way in plenty of time, but still. I just had to be sure."

"I don't plan on attacking you guys any time soon."

"Good. In that case, Ciel and I are now able to access the power I had back in the demon realm."

"That's good, I guess. What about the guard?"

They all looked down. He didn't know what it was, but clearly they were all affected by it. "What? What happened?"

Lu spoke up. "He didn't make it. There was nothing we could have done about it but…"

"You don't need to go on. I know how hard it is to lose someone."

Elesis spoke up next. "I… I lost my brother during that, as well."

"Losing someone close to you is the hardest thing in the world." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I know this as well as you do."

"You had a sibling?"

"No. I had a fiancée. She was the most beautiful girl in the world. But when they came for me, well, let's just say we'd never be married."

"I'm going to take revenge against the people who killed my brother, who are probably the same as those who killed your fiancée."

"I'd guess that means we're heading to that tower over there."

Ain

His task was simple. Help Solace gain a foothold in Elysion, and he was gain more power. It was a fairly simple task. Simply go to where the Nasods never went, and set up a fortress there. The place that best fit that description was beneath the artificial island itself. There was nowhere anything could land, so why bother defending it?

It only took a few days to set up the basics of both a fortress on the outskirts and a palace closer to the center. He needn't bother finishing them. J=His job was to set up a foothold, and that's exactly what he did. Solace's minions would complete the rest of the structures.

For now, he would test the extent of his new power in Henir's battlegrounds, a mash of copies of enemies from all across time and space.

Aisha

She slowly opened her eyes. She didn't know how she survived. A fall from that height should have killed them, and yet here she was. She tried sitting up. Unsurprisingly, she was in immense pain, and struggled even in that.

She held her head in one hand, propping herself up with the other, giving herself a moment to rest before she tried to do anything. She didn't know where the others were, or even if they were alive. She cast a light to see what was around her.

It was too bright for her to see at first, but once her eyes adjusted, she took in the sight and let out a horrific, terrified scream. Not two feet in front of her was a body impaled in multiple places by stalagmite, blood flowing down from the corpse.

"Aisha? Aisha is that you? Are you okay?" She heard Elsword's voice approaching her in a hurry.

"Yeah, it's… it's me."

He stepped into the light and grabbed her shoulders, asking again. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

"Elsword, I'm fine. Really. What's with all this affection, anyway? This isn't like you."

"I realized something as we fell. You mean more to me that just a friend. I don't know why it is that I felt that way, maybe because I was probably going to die, but I care about your well being. I… I care about you."

This caught her completely off guard. She would never have expected, of all people, that Elsword would have a thing for her. She didn't know how to respond. She didn't know how to feel. She'd have to admit, she was touched by this, but she didn't know how to respond.

"Elsword… I don't know. Things are a little hectic right now. Maybe ask me again when this is over. I just… there's a lot going on right now."

"Ah, I take it you don't feel the same way then…"

"You dummy!" She said playfully. "Did you listen to a word I said?" She wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes.

She had completely forgotten about the body until she opened her eyes again and saw it, flinching.

"What's wrong? You tensed up suddenly."

She pointed behind him at the body, and he turned around, clenching his fist when he saw it.

"Aisha, why don't we go look for Rena? I'm sure she wouldn't mind having a little light."

Rena

She awoke to the sound a scream, jolting up before wincing in pain. She didn't know how she was still alive. A fall from that height should have killed her. For now, she was thankful to be alive. That's what mattered. That, and finding the source of the scream. Thinking back, it sounded like Aisha. It had to come from somewhere.

She stumbled around in the dark, searching for her. Before long, she heard faint sounds of her and Elsword talking, and headed in the direction it came from. She eventually saw a light, and could see Elsword holding Aisha in his arms. He let go, said something she couldn't make out, and they started walking in a seemingly random direction.

She ran up to them before they got far. "Guys! You're okay!"

"Rena!" Aisha ran to her and hugged her. "You're alive! I don't suppose you know where we are?"

"Hmm… Well, it's too flat to have been caused by the explosion, and it's too dark to see the sunlight, so… somewhere deep underground."

"We should get moving then," Elsword added, "We don't have much time."

Rena nodded in agreement. "You're right. Air's not going to circulate this far down, even with an open top like this."

"Uh, yeah, that's… that's totally what I'm talking about. Yeah."

It didn't surprise her in the least that Elsword didn't know about it. He never exactly payed attention during his classes, so there was really no way that he would know. But he was still right. They needed to get moving both for air and to catch Wally before he steals another El shard.

Figuring they would eventually reach the exit, they headed down one of the various tunnels that could be found along the edge of the cave.

Rose

She had woken to the sound of the ground trembling. Well, to be more specific, the entirety of the area around her trembling. Neither of the robots had moved, so it appeared to be nothing serious, but a tremor like that felt underground was probably not a good sign of what could come.

Several hours passed and still nothing happened. However, she began to hear footsteps heading towards her. As they came closer, it became evident that it was more than just one person. She assumed them to be not on her side, as again the robots did nothing.

That is, until the source of the footsteps came into view. There were three of them. A boy with red hair, holding a sword and a sheath, a girl with purple hair, and a girl with blonde hair, wearing black. Whoever they were, they were evidentially not one of the robots, and didn't seem to her to be siding with them. The robots still didn't react, so she assumed they were turned off, if only for the moment.

She eyed the three, slowly pulling out a pistol on the side they came from, hoping they would figure out what she was intending to do. The blonde haired girl figured it out pretty quickly, as she drew her bow and took a careful aim. The arrow released, cut the ropes, and she dropped to the ground, firing a bullet at each, knocking them down, and hopefully taking them out for good.

She took a moment to get used to not being tied up before standing up and introducing herself.

"Thanks for rescuing me. My name is Rose, by the way. I'm-" She cut herself off before telling them who she really was. "I'm not from around here."

"Well, I could've guessed that." The boy with red hair spoke. "No one from 'around here' wears an outfit like that."

"Elsword!" The girl with purple hair spoke in a hushed tone, nudging him before speaking to her. "You'll have to excuse him. He's an idiot."

"I… I see." They appeared to be friends, as them talking in that manner would suggest.

The girl with blonde hair sighed and spoke. "You two really are hopeless. I'm Rena, and these two boneheads are Aisha and Elsword."

She shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Rena. I take it that you're the leader of this group, then?"

"Well, it would seem so, as the others appear to be incompetent."

"Hey!" The others, whose names were apparently Elsword and Aisha, said at once.

"Anyway, I don't suppose you'd know the way out of here? The three of us kind of… fell from above and don't know how to get out of here."

"Well, I was actually you'd know. I… was kind teleported then captured, so I genuinely have no idea."

"Ah well. We came from that tunnel, and there's only two ways out of this room, so I would guess that the other way would be the way out then."

"I'll grab a torch for light."

"Actually, I don't think there'll be a need. Aisha."

The girl nodded and cast a spell that created a ball of light to they could see. It also made them more visible targets, she thought to herself. But this girl was still a mage, and therefore possibly connected with the group that invaded her world. She would have to be careful around her in the time to come.

Elsword

They were clearly in a series of caves that had been dug out over a large period of time, as they went on for hours. The tunnels just kept winding and winding, always in an uphill direction. It made him wonder just how far underground they really were.

But what really bothered him was the lack of Nasods. There weren't even any signs that they had been there. None left behind, and no remains. They were wondering in empty tunnels.

They eventually made it to the top, and they saw daylight for the first time in at least several hours, though there was really no way of knowing how much time had really passed. Once his eyes adjusted to the daylight, however, how much time had passed was the least of his worries. He saw a massive ship flying away in an upward angle.

He then heard Rose speak. "Well, looks like he wasn't lying after all."

"Lying? Who?" He questioned.

"Never found out his name. Short guy. About this tall. Annoying." She held her hand up in comparison to her body.

"Wally…"

"Wally? His name was Wally? Well, he captured me and I interrogated him. In the process, he mentioned a flying ship. I assumed he was lying about the flying part."

"Wait, how did you end up interrogating him when you were the one captured?"

"Well, it was my first time being captured unintentionally, but the overall process was the same. Give them answers that satisfy them, then play dumb and get them to tell you everything."

"You say that like it's easy to do."

She shrugged. "It's a combination of training and natural talent."

Rena tilted her head. "Where exactly did you receive that kind of training? You're not an elf, so you couldn't be a ranger."

"Elf? What does that have to do with anything? Don't humans have agents in their royal courts, as well?"

"Well, we don't really have royal courts. The closest thing we have is the El Lady, who, well, makes sure the El remains in living things to keep them alive, to state the obvious."

"A culture that serves life. What a curios way to live."

"Excuse me?"

"Ah, sorry. Personal notes. In any case, we should figure out how to get up to that ship."

Aisha speak up for the first time in a while. "Actually, I think I can help with that."

Rose hesitated to hear her offer. "Let's hear it."

"I was reading a book on magics involving teleportation, and I think I can teleport us to the ship."

"So you've never done any sort of teleportation before?" she replied quickly.

"…No, why?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"You've never, oh say… opened a portal to another world?"

"What? No one's been able to even prove if that's possible!"

"Just had to be sure."

Rena spoke up in her defense. "Sure of what? You've been asking very specific questions. Who are you really? Where are you really from?"

She paused. It looked to him like she realized that she had made a mistake.

"Rose?" He tried to see what was wrong.

"I've made a mistake, and it's cost me my secrecy."

"Your secrecy? What are you talking about?"

"I'm an agent of a queen from another world. I've come here by the orders of my queen and against the will of a governing council to counter a demon invasion of our world from those hailing from yours. In doing so, I am committing treason against the council, and will be faced with imprisonment at best when I return."

"Why didn't you tell us when we met?"

"I was sworn to secrecy. However, if I didn't tell you now, you would have been suspicious of what I was hiding, and would never have fully trusted me. I've realized that I can't complete my mission without help, and as luck would have it, you happened across me."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, the whole world thinks we're dead right now."

"Dead… I have an idea! Could any of you figure out where that ship is headed?"

Rena spoke out. "Well, it looks like it's sort of headed to Altera, which is-"

"Aisha, could you open a portal directly to Altera?"

"Possibly, why?"

"The element of surprise. If the whole world thinks we're dead, we can ge the jump on our enemies."

He'd admit, this was actually not a bad plan. It used both stealth, and strait forward combat. Everyone got what they liked doing.

"Hmm… I'll see what I can do. It's a good plan, but it assumes I'll be able to do my part."

"Oh, and launching me high into the air wasn't?" Elsword teased her.

"Well, of course it was, but-"

"Then how is this any different? If I can be forced to face my fears, then you can be forced to push the limits of your abilities." He realized it sounded less like teasing now."

She sighed. "Fine, I'll it."

Eve

System:Boot System Activated

Queen Type S:Time

Unavailable

System:Loading sensory input…

Auditory Input Initiated

Tactile Input Initiated

Olfactory Input Initiated

Visual Input Initiated

Gustatory Input Initiated

System:Updating Blackbox software

%10

%16

…

…

…

Error

Blackbox software has failed to update

Resuming startup programming…

Queen Type S:Search,local target=Nasods

Error

System is unable to complete task

System:Warning

Hostile object is approaching

Prepare battle systems

Something wasn't right. Some systems had failed, and strange, unidentified systems had appeared. Then there was the search. Even if she was the only one, the search wouldn't have had an error. The check would only have failed if…

Queen Type S:Check status subject=protocol,Void

Void protocol=Phase 2

If the Void Protocol had begun, that meant someone had to activate it. Someone with either the Queen's or King's code. Adam had been incapacitated long before she shut herself down, and she certainly hadn't activated it as she had just awoken. That left one possible figure. The person who created her, Adrian.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Aisha

She couldn't believe he'd actually made her do it. She was somehow able to push everyone up to the airship, and they all landed in relatively the same place. Her powers were growing, and she was curious to learn more about them. However, before she could even so much as to think about her powers, she realized the drawback of using so much energy the way she did, and her body felt heavy.

Upon landing on the ship's deck, they were welcomed by… nothing. No workers, no defenses, nothing. It was suspiciously quiet, and too much so for her. Something was definitely up, but she didn't have the energy to come up with a possible reason why. She needed to find a place to rest, and fast.

"Elsword, I-"

Elsword

She fell into his arms with her eyes closed. He didn't know much at all about how magic worked, but he guessed that she used up all her energy getting them onto the ship.

"We should probably find somewhere for her to rest, before Wally's crew finds us."

Rena looked over then nodded in agreement. "That would be best. I'll scout ahead."

"I'll help you carry her, then." Rose started walking over to him, but he stopped her, having a better idea.

"Actually, Rose, how about this. You scout ahead, and Rena will come with me as cover."

She paused. "Why? Rena seems like she would be much better suited to this."

"I'm with Rose here, Elsword. I'm much more suited to stealth and reconnaissance than she is."

"I know, I know, just hear me out. Rena, I know you could provide cover with extreme accuracy, and if anything goes wrong, I'm counting on that. Rose, however, I've only known for a few hours at most. I don't have the same trust in her that I have in Rena. You could consider this building up that trust."

"That's… strangely mature of you, Elsword." Rena replied after a pause, "But I see your point. I'll stay with you, and Rose will scout ahead for a resting place. Sound good, Rose?"

"Um, sure, I guess."

Rose

She understood why Elsword made the decision he did, but that didn't mean she liked it. Sure, her title was that of an agent, but she was much better as security. As a guard. But more to the point, it felt like she was being excluded or kicked out. She wasn't used to this feeling.

But even so, she was given a job to do, and she wasn't going to let her feelings get in the way of doing it well. She went swiftly down the hallways, carefully scanning for any guards that may be present, and checking rooms for places that may have hiding places. She found it suspicious that, like on deck, there was no one at all below deck. It felt like something was being set up for them.

She found a room with a back area concealed by a couple boxes and went back to the others to report what she found.

"I see," Rena replied, as if she were now the leader, "We'll rest there then."

It seemed to her that the group had no designated leader, and it was someone who happened to take charge at the moment who they followed as the leader. It was an interesting setup, she thought, even for a small group. It normally doesn't work, as multiple people decide to take charge, get in fights, and the group breaks up. Even in a small group like this. However, the three of them seem to have a mutual respect for each other that makes this system work for them.

When they arrived at the room, she volunteered to take first watch while the others rested. After a few hours, Rena came up to her and offered to take her place.

"Actually, I want to go see something. You know how there's seemingly no one on the ship at all?" Rena nodded. "If there's anyone anywhere on the ship, they'll be in the control room. I'm going to see if there's anyone up there in that tower."

Rena paused a moment. "Are you sure you want to go alone? I could get Elsword and-"

"I'm sure!" She cut her off. "Look, if there's anyone here, the more people there are, the more likely we are to get caught. Besides, Elsword trusts you more than he trusts me, so if we both go missing and get caught, he'll blame it all on me."

Rena paused again, this time in thought. "You have a point, and we need to know what's going on here before we walk strait into a trap. Go ahead. I'll cover for you."

She let out a light sigh of relief, smiling a little. "Thanks, Rena. I'll be back shortly."

She headed off to the tower, retracing her steps to get back on deck before entering the tower, the whole time, still not seeing a single person of any kind, even on the climb to the top of the tower.

Upon entering the room at the top of the tower, she was met with a gruesome sight. Pieces of what she could assume to be the crew were all over the place, which was coated in a red color she assumed to be their blood. The machines that she believed once controlled the ship all had damage, coming from what she assumed to be a spherical shape from the center of the room. Purple fragments of what she could only guess to be glass could be found near the center as well.

Upon looking out the window, she immediately sprinted back down to the room as fast as she could. The ship was approaching an island, and there was nobody to land the ship.

Rena

A few minutes after Rose had left, she heard stirring within the room, and decided to see what was happening. Elsword was sitting up and Aisha was looking around.

"W-where are we?"

"Still on the ship," Elsword replied, not seeming to have noticed her, "We found a place to hide while we rest up for a bit."

Aisha visibly shuttered, and Rena spoke up to comfort her. "Don't worry, Aisha. We _all_ needed some rest. You're just the one who made us realize that."

"Rose is still outside?" Elsword asked, calmly.

"Actually, she went to see why we haven't seen anyone yet. She went out to investigate the control room."

"What?! You let her go alone?!"

"Elsword, I know what you're thinking, but you said it yourself, we need to trust her more!"

"That's not what I'm talking about! What if she gets caught?! She's part of our group now, Rena! We need to look out for each other!"

As if on cue, Rose burst through the door. "Brace yourselves! We're going to crash!"

The ship began shaking violently as it hit what she believed to be the island, and reflexively ran towards Rose, grabbing her hand and pulling her into a corner as the ship continued to crash and break apart around them

-o0~|~0o-

When the ship, or the remains for that matter, stopped moving, she pushed the scraps that had fallen around them out of the way and began looking around.

"Elsword? Aisha? Can you hear me?"

She pulled Rose up as she awaited a reply that didn't come.

"Elsword? Aisha?"

She started walking around the area she believed to once be the room they were in as Rose began calling and searching as well.

"Elsword? Please tell me you can hear me!"

She heard a muffled sound followed by a slight movement of a pile of rubble a few feet from her.

"Elsword!"

She immediately began digging before finding a large beam that seemed to have folded into a triangle, presumably keeping him safe. Rose ran over and together the two of them managed to push the beam out of the way enough for Elsword, supporting Aisha with one arm, to get out.

Having gotten out, he carried Aisha to a more open area and sat her down. Aisha immediately began grabbing her right arm, and was bleeding slightly from her head.

"Rena, do you have a healing potion?" he asked nervously.

She began searching around her belt, grabbing the bottle when she found it, but seeing there was a small chip in the bottle and all the fluid had drained away.

"Ah. Sorry, it seems that I don't."

Elsword looked away in disappointment.

"Elsword, I'll be fine." Aisha let out a small laugh and smiled. "After all, I've survived worse before." Her right hand unconsciously moved to the faint scar on her left side.

Rose then walked over to them. "Um, it's my last one, but here. You can have it." She handed them a bottle containing a red liquid.

"Rose, are you sure? I-" Elsword snatched the bottle before Aisha could finish her sentence, uncorked it and handed it to her.

"It's fine, Aisha. You need it more than I do. Besides, I can put up with a few bruises for a while."

She took the bottle and began drinking it, and Rena then spoke up.

"I'm going to find us a place to stay for the night. It won't take long for Wally's supporters to come after us once they've found out their ship crashed."

Eve

Queen Type B: Time

Time=11:43 AM

Queen Type B: Scan,local subject=lifesignatures

=8

Queen Type B: locate subject=lifesignatures

4 lifesignatures direction=west

4 lifesignatures direction=southwest

:

Human=3

Elf=1

Southwest,lifesignatures:

Human=3

Demon=1

Nasod signatures also found on Southwest,human.2

Name=Raven

Queen Type B: Does Raven=trustworthy

False

Raven= = 2

Queen Type B: Locate Nasod,foundry

Searching…

=Northeast

Show route?

Queen Type B: Yes

Route Shown

Queen Type B: Time

Time=3:27 PM

Queen Type B: Scan target=foundry interior

Interior scanned

Queen Type B: Create blueprints source=foundry,interior

Working…

Blueprints created!

Queen Type B: Begin Nasod Production

Working…

Beginning procedures…

Chung

In the time since he decided to investigate the Water Temple, he had been working on his cannon, or rather pistols, they should be called. He had changed the form of his family's weapon in order to make himself lighter and more capable of faster movements. With this, he was ready to head out to investigate the temple.

He headed out alone in the dead of night, being careful to avoid being seen by any demons on their patrols, and left the city limits, continuing on the trail that leads to the temple through the mountains. There were surprisingly few demons on this trail, but it worked to his favor as he experimented with his new, light weapon.

As he continued on this trail, the water level was visibly rising, and the current was growing faster. Whatever it was that they were doing, the effects were speeding up.

When he reached the temple, he was met with the bright sun beaming down on the ice surrounding the area, giving the air in the area a cool and crispness as he breathed it in. It seemed that this was a paradise, untouched by the evil just on the other side of the mountains. However, he knew that this had to be a façade for what was probably awaiting him just within the temple walls.

He walked into the temple, facing no demons until he reached the heart of the temple. There, he met with a demon of much more power than that of the others he had faced to this point. He appeared to be much more humanoid than the others. He then spoke in the voice of a human rather than that of a human.

"You must be Chung. Your arrival has been greatly anticipated."

He was taken off guard by this at first, but he came to his own realizations.

"I suppose you would know that it was inevitable that I would come here eventually."

"You think that was our thinking? Chung, we've been aware of your movements for quite some time. All the way back to the tunnel leading to the docks. We've known about that little weakness there for quite some time. The simple fact of the matter is that allowing that weakness to remain would speed your arrival here."

"You seem to be certain that my being here is a good thing. Are you really that confident that you can beat me?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. But not for the reason you think."

Chung drew his guns and prepared to fight.

"Let's just see how well placed that confidence of yours is!"

He fired a bullet at the demon, who simply stood in response. A girl then dropped from above, deflecting the bullet with the blade of her spear with a saddened look on her face.

Ara

He wasn't a bad person. He really wasn't. That's why she had to defend him. Her brother wasn't the kind of person to do bad things without some kind of higher motivation. Sure, he was possessed, but this couldn't be something of his doing, and if it was, he had some higher plan that he couldn't tell anyone about.

"Chung… please don't kill him. He's… he's not a bad person."

He hesitated, leading her to believe that he was caught off guard. "Person? I don't know what you're trying to pull, but you're protecting a demon!"

"He's not a demon!" She snapped at him. "My brother's not a demon…"

Another pause. "I don't know who you two are, but if he really once was your brother, he's not anymore. He's become nothing more than a ruthless killing machine."

"He's not! He's just… he's not…" She didn't know how she could explain it to him, but she had to find a way to stop him. For her brother.

Chung then was looking down with a shadow across his eyes as if he was about to do something he really didn't want to. "If you don't get out of my way, then I'll just have to kill you too, human or otherwise." He lifted his gun again, this time towards her.

"Ara Haan! M-my name…"

"I don't care! It doesn't matter how prestigious your family is! If he's become a demon, then there's no going back!"

She walked up to him, grabbing his gun and placed the barrel to her forehead. "Then you'll have to shoot me, too."

There was a silence, and a painful expression on his face.

A gunshot resounded through the hall.

Raven

They had started walking towards the town when he had looked back to the left, seeing smoke rising on the horizon. Thinking about it, that's roughly where the ship should have landed if it stayed on course, and he didn't awaken on a dock.

"What happened to the ship while I was out?"

Elesis responded. "That's kind of a random question. Where's it coming from?"

"There's smoke rising from where the ship should have docked. What happened over there?"

"It wasn't us, I promise. After we knocked you out, we took you below deck so as to not be discovered. A few hours later, the ship crashed. Other than that, we don't really know any more than you."

"And I assume you took me south before I awakened?"

"It seemed best to get as far away from the wreck as possible."

"I see."

At this point, they had arrived at the entrance of the town, visible now to be nothing more than ruins, and they appeared to have been that way for some time.

Elesis stood there, stunned by the destruction. "What… what happened here?"

Raven looked towards the tower in the center of the island. "I don't know, but I bet it has something to do with that."

Lu

She could recognize immediately that this wasn't Scar's doing. He doesn't usually destroy towns, they for the most part, they can become strategic places in a moment's notice. This was far too sloppy to be Scar. This was someone else.

"It's not Scar's work, but I still think we should take out whoever did this. They could become a potential ally to him if we're not careful."

Ciel nodded in agreement. "I think you're both right. We should head to the tower and take out whoever is responsible for the destruction of the town."

Ain

If there was any doubt that he is not who he once was, it was gone. His time spent within Henir's power has corrupted him beyond any point of return. He could feel the shift of the source of his power from that of the goddess, to that of Henir.

This change in his power also brought a change in his ideals. He had completely abandoned his purpose of protecting the El, and had instead begun to seek out its power for his own. Though Henir suggested the gathering for his own uses, Ain still had enough of his will left to keep secrets from the dark god.

Through various methods, he began searching for the locations of the massive El shards. In theory, the Earth El should be in Sander, the Fire El in Lanox, the Wind El in Altera, the Water El in Hamel, the Light El in Elysion, and the Dark El in Varnimyr. He had felt the central shard, normally kept in Ruben, be destroyed by some force.

That left only six shard he needed to find in order to break free from any commanding deity to control his existence. Then, and only then, would he be able to achieve his true goal.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Elsword

He had taken the first watch near the entrance is a cave Rena had found in the nearby mountains. He decided to take the opportunity to speak to Conwell once again.

"Conwell, you there?"

"I've always been here, Elsword. But shouldn't you be focused on keeping watch?"

"I figured that we've gone pretty far inland, so chances are, they won't look for us here, but if they do, well, that's why I'm talking softly like this."

"You've grown up a lot since we first met, not all that long ago. You can definitely see better options than you used to."

"Really? Well, I guess that's what comes out of a journey like this."

"It seems so. Anyway, what was it you wished to talk about? I wouldn't think you called me to have a chat."

"I need more power. The people I care about keep getting hurt because I'm not strong enough to protect them."

"Are you referring to the Landar girl, in particular?"

"So what if I am? She's one of the people I want to protect, and as I am, I'm not able to do that."

"That girl has special powers that you couldn't possibly even imagine. She-"

"Why does that matter?! The simple fact is that I'm not strong enough, and you can give me that strength. The strength I need to protect everyone around me!"

Conwell fell silent a moment.

"…are you sure you want to go down this path, Elsword? The last person to do so became known as a villain to many people."

"Yeah? But I'm not like that person. I'll follow any path if it means no one else has to get hurt."

How similar they are, Conwell thought. Both are willing to be called 'evil' to protect the ones they love. It seems history is on track to repeat itself once again.

"Very well. I will give you the rest of the power I have to offer. I'm curious to know how precisely you follow in his footsteps."

"Thanks, Conwell. You won't regret it! Pretty soon, all this will be over."

"Actually, I have one more question for you, Elsword."

"What's that?"

"Why are you still fighting? The Ruben El Shard was already destroyed. That's why you left on this journey, right? So then why are you continuing on?"

"That's…" He paused, the thought not having crossed his mind before. "That's because it's natural, I suppose. I've gone this far, so why should I stop trying to help people now?"

Conwell paused another moment. "Give that some thought, Elsword. Find what it is you're truly fighting for."

"What I'm truly fighting for…"

Aisha

She had been tossing and turning for a while now, trying to fall asleep, but she just couldn't seem to do it. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't actually done much for the group. Maybe it was the fact that she was the only one getting injured like this. Whatever it was, she had sat up, and decided to talk to Elsword, who she could see was still on watch. She wrapped herself in her blanked and walked over to him.

"Hey, Elsword."

"Aisha! Thought I said I'd get whoever was next when my time's up?"

"It's… it's not that. I couldn't sleep so I wanted to talk."

"I see." He turned towards her. "Your hair's down."

"Oh, yeah. It's kind of hard to sleep with my hair tied up."

"I kind of like it. It suits you"

A light blush ran across her face as she turned her head slightly. "May I sit down?"

"Course!"

"Can I ask you a serious question?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Do you think I'm helpful to our group?"

That seemed to take him off guard.

"I mean… I'm the only one who's been seriously injured, and I haven't done all that much whenever we fight something"

"Aisha… what are you talking about? Of course you're helpful!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Sure, you might not have directly done much in combat, but without you there's no way we could have gotten this far."

"You think so?"

"Of course! If you weren't with us, we would've lost Banthus back at that massive Phoru in the woods! You were also the one who figured out that the lizards were being mind controlled, and you got us all onto that airship that took us here. What you do in the group may not be small and simple things, but it's the major things you do for us every now and then that make you valued as a member!"

"…thanks, Elsword. I really needed to hear that." She shifted around a little to make herself comfortable. "Do you mind if I sleep here?"

He nervously looked away, scratching his face. "Uh, sure, I guess."

"Thanks." She rested her head on the wall behind her, and finally drifted off to sleep.

Rena

She had awaken to the sun beaming on her face, which was strange, considering Elsword should have gotten her up for her shift to keep watch. She took a look around. Rose was still asleep, and Aisha, along with her blanket, was sitting next to Elsword, who appeared to still be watching over the group. She decided to pack up her things, then go check up on the other two.

"Elsword. I'll take watch, so you can go pack up your things."

"Well, I'd love to, but…" He gestured with one hand to Aisha, who's head was resting on his shoulder now.

"Geez, do I have to do everything around here?" She shook her lightly a few times. "Aisha, it's time to get up."

"Mmm…" She shifted around a bit. "Just five more minutes."

"No, not five more minutes, NOW!" She pulled her arm so that she fell to the other side.

"Ack! Okay, I'm up! I'm up!" She rubbed her eyes and looked around. "Wait, have you been out here all night?"

Elsword looked nervous. "Well, I didn't want to wake you up after you had just gotten to sleep, so…"

Aisha practically turned red, and puffed her cheeks slightly. "ELSWORD, YOU IDIOT!"

Rena could see Rose shoot up in surprise, and decided to go talk to her instead of waiting for Aisha to finish scolding Elsword about the importance of sleeping.

"Well, look who's finally awake~"

Rose had a slightly concerned look on her face. "How… How long have you all been up?" She let out a yawn, covering it with her hand

"Oh, not very. I only woke up a few minutes ago."

"Oh, okay then." She looked at the others. "Um… is she okay?"

"Oh, right. You haven't been here very long. This is actually pretty normal between the two of them."

"Oh, really?"

She let out a light laugh. "Yeah. Elsword tries to be considerate, and Aisha scolds him for doing something stupid. But I'll admit, sometimes he does just do some stupid things and deserves a good scolding."

"Must be rough to put up with something like that."

"Well, he's had it a little rougher than you might think. His father was never around much because of his work, and his sister disappeared a little over six years ago, so for the most part, he's had to grow up alone."

"I… I would never have guessed just looking at him."

"No one would have. I certainly didn't. But I think it worked out for him in the long run. I mean, just look at what he's been through, both mentally and physically, and just in the time that you've been with us."

"It's frankly amazing that he turned out so well. Many people from my world that grow up alone are usually worse off because of it."

"That's understandable. In any case, you should pack up your things. That way we're just waiting on the two of them."

Rose

She kept her things packed pretty tightly, so it only took her a few minutes or so to finish packing everything up. After standing around outside the cave for a while, she finally decided to hurry things along.

"…and that's not the half of it! If you don't get enough sleep, it might end up being _you_ who becomes the liability in battle!"

"Um… I'd hate to interrupt… whatever this is, but we really ought to be going now, especially given how-"

"No, I'm not done here!" She pointed a finger at Rose to get her to stop talking.

Rose immediately grabbed it with an irritated look on her face. "Yes, Aisha, I think you are." She pulled Aisha back into the cave, who was struggling all the while. "Now go pack up your stuff!"

She let out a sigh. It felt to her like she was babysitting those two. She now understood what it was that Rena had to go through all the time with these two.

She then heard Elsword let out a sigh as well. "Thanks for saving me there, Rose. Rena usually just lets her give it to me."

"Think nothing of it. She was being loud, is all. Makes it easy for the enemy to find us."

"Yeah, sure. In either case, I'm still thanking you."

"Should you not be packing your things up as well?"

"Ah, shoot! I totally forgot!"

She sighed again, then decided to talk to the only sensible person she had met since she had arrived here.

"How do you deal with those two, Rena? It feels like we're always babysitting them."

"It does kinda, doesn't it? I guess for me, I sort of became the parental figure in the group, seeing as I was the oldest and most mature, so I guess I just kind of… got used to it, I guess."

She sighed again. "I guess I can manage if you can. On a completely unrelated note, where were we going to go today?"

"Well, I was thinking we would go the that village off in the distance."

"A village? Can we be certain that it's safe for us to be there, especially this soon after the crash?"

"No, not really. But it's a start for whatever it is we're going to do next."

"Which is…?"

"I suspect taking down the rest of Wally's followers, and ending anything else that would come up as a result of all this."

"I see. So we should get going as soon as possible, then?"

"I think so, yes."

Elesis

The tower wasn't exactly close to the town, which was on the edge of the island. It was a few hour walk to the tower, during which they encountered no resistance at all, which seemed to her to be a little suspicious, especially after what happened with the town.

They arrived at the tower, met with a large entrance that could be presumed to be just a missing panel, but was still a convenient way of getting into the tower.

"Be careful. We don't know what we're going to find inside, but it will undoubtedly be Nasod."

The three then walked into the darkness of the tower's interior, consumed by the darkness.

"I don't suppose either of you have some kind of light? There may not be much point in continuing if we can't see anything." Lu's voice called from shortly behind her.

"I think Lu's right, Elesis. We should come back with a light source."

She then created a small ball of fire in her hands, illuminating a small are around them with a faint yellow glow.

"It's not much, but I can at least control enough to create a small amount of light."

Lu

"You've lit up the hall, but it still seems so… dark." She reached out and touched the black metal walls of the tower that surrounded her. "What kind of material is this, anyway? I… I can't tell what it is. It's certainly not from the demon world, but… it doesn't quite have the El's energy either."

"I know. It's throwing me off too. It just… it has nothing at all. Not even the Dark El. It's just… dead." Elesis replied, continuing to move.

"The sooner we get out of here, the better." Ciel commented, coldly. "I have a very bad feeling about this place."

They continued down the hallway, occasionally hearing the sounds of metal tapping on metal, as if it were skittering around. It was enough to make them stop multiple times on their way down the hall.

Eventually, they reached a larger chamber with a door on the other side. From the other side, a red dot appeared before much longer, the dot turned into a beam, firing strait at them. Dodging to the side, Elesis created a massive flare from her fireball to light up the room. Before them was an orb floating above a small tower, ready to continue firing at the group.

Just before the flare went out, Lu summoned her weapons and charged the orb, swiping at where she thought it to be in the now dark room. "What the-" The orb then fired from behind her, knocking her forward.

"Lu!" Ciel had taken his guns and started firing at the orb, revealing it to no longer be over the tower.

"Why, you little!" Seeing the glow from its preparation of a shot, she lunged at where it was, only to find that it floated up to avoid her. It turned down and fired on her again.

"Lu, this isn't an enemy you can fight with your abilities!" Elesis called out to her. "Get away from it!"

Normally, she wouldn't pay any mind to comments like that, but in this one case, it had avoided and struck her with ease. She would sit the rest of this one out.

Ciel

Not long after, Elesis had run over to him.

"Here's the plan. I'll distract it, and you shoot in its… eye, I guess it is. If it fires something like that from it, I'd be willing to bet that damage to it would cause massive problems to it, or if we're lucky, even destroy it. Sound good?"

"It's worth a try," He nodded in agreement.

Elesis then charged at the orb, now fixated them, yelling to grab its attention. The orb's 'eye' then began glowing red as it charged its beam, giving him a clear location to aim at. All he had to do was line up the shadows of the sights, and pull the trigger.

Eve

Queen Type B: Factory,efficiency

Factory is running at maximum efficiency

Queen Type B: Nasod,productionrate

1 Nasod is produced every 120 seconds

Queen Type B: Time until Factory=unusable

13 hours, 11 minutes, 23 seconds remain

That meant that she and all of her newly produced units had to be completely off the island by that point. To achieve this, she would have to begin leaving in 11 hours, 53 minutes, and 17 seconds.

She had already prepared boats to begin taking them to a shore on a nearby island below. This strategy, in theory, would maximize the amount of units she could produce, while keeping off the radar of whatever it was that activated the Void Protocol.

Before she began on her conquest, she would have to familiarize herself with various strategies that had come up while she had been deactivated. To do so, she would send out specially designed Nasods to analyze the books and records of conflicts that had arisen, as well as techniques that had been developed. As this information was sent to her, she would analyze the data and use it to run simulations to aid her ability to predict tactics of both large groups and individuals. The time of man was over. The time of the Nasods would soon begin…

Ain

His first stop in his search for the El would be the ruined city of Elrianode. Having once housed the El, many smaller fragments would likely be found all over the place, and wouldn't be noticed if they go missing. As such, this would be a prime place to build up power as he began his search for the El fragments to complete his plan.

Upon arrival, however, he wasn't alone. Another figure stood among the ruins, seeming to be looking over the destruction. The figure had white hair.

"Isn't it beautiful?" He seemed to notice his presence. The voice Ain recognized as Glave, a person higher ranking in the power of Henir than he. "This is the true nature of Henir. A force of complete chaos and destruction. Funnily enough, though, this wasn't done by his power. No, something like this could only have happened from within, wouldn't you agree, Ain?"

He turned around, revealing the mask bolted to his face, and the locks around his collar.

"Why exactly are you here, Glave?"

"Aww, is that any way to treat your superior? I know why you're here, Ain. And I know why you're _really_ here."

"Would those two not be the same?"

"You can't hide things that big from me, Ain. You can't hide them from Henir, either. The only reason he tolerates your hunt anyway is because he knows he can defeat you before you use the fragments."

"Why exactly are you telling me this? Wouldn't you rather me be out of the way then?"

"Because there's something bigger going than just this. The El shards have nothing at all to do with it, but Henir needs a physical body for the events to come."

"You're being cryptic. I don't suppose you'd actually tell me what's happening, then?"

"Come, Ain. It's time you know what's about to happen."

Chung

The smoke rose from the barrel of his gun, as the body of the demon fell to the ground with wide eyes. He had moved his gun to the side at the last moment to avoid killing the girl, who now had tears filling her eyes.

"No…" She quickly turned her head around to see his body hit the ground before running over to him. "NOOO!"

Chung turned his head away. After seeing the girl react this way, it may have been that he really was her brother. She started crying and calling his name, telling him it was going to be okay. He felt more guilt than he'd ever imagined possible. His hands were shaking. Did he really do the right thing? Even if he caused her so much pain, he did the right thing, right? He didn't know anymore.

"Ara, I…"

"Get out."

"What?"

"Get out! I said get out!"

"But I-"

"Leave me alone! Get out of here!"

Gritting his teeth, he turned around and left the girl to her mourning. He had to believe that he did the right thing. Things would only go downhill from here if he didn't. He would have to move on. But even so, he couldn't help but feel bad. In the end, he had left her there, crying. He felt like he had to do something to make up for the pain he caused her.

Looking down at the river on the way back, he saw the tops of trees poking out from the still high river, and had an idea. Arriving back at the port, he gathered several of the remaining soldiers.

Ara

She sat holding her brother's body, weeping and telling him it was going to be okay, even though she knew it really wasn't. Deep down, she knew he was already dead. But she didn't want to believe it. It wasn't fair. He died because of a choice he didn't make. Because of random chance. Because he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The doors of the temple opened once more, and accompanied by a sled of wood, was Chung with a regretful look on his face. She held the body of her brother tightly.

"What? Didn't get enough last time?"

"Actually, I… I wanted to apologize."

"Well, there. You're done. Now leave."

He shook his head. "Actually, I wanted to give you something."

"What?! What could you possibly give me that would make up for my brother's life?!"

He stepped aside, revealing the sled to be full of wood. "I thought… just maybe…"

"You thought what?! A pile of sticks would make up for what you did?! Well, it's not!"

"I was hoping that… maybe a funeral would be."

"A… a…" This had caught her completely off guard. Someone who had just been her enemy was now offering to honor the one he had just killed? There had to be something more to his coming back. "And I suppose you want something in return?"

"Actually, I… it's traditional here to burn a warrior in the place they fell, to help them rise to the next world and learn from what caused them to fall in the first place. I was hoping to share that tradition with you."

She held his body tighter. She wasn't ready to let go yet. Not like this. "I… not yet. I just… I need some time…"

Chung started walking over to the crying her.

"Then we'll do it when you're ready to."

He squatted down in front of her.

"I made the mistake of doing that once, and I'm not going to do it again."

He stood up again, but she grabbed his arm before he could start to walk away.

"Wait! I… I've changed my mind. If I don't do this, I'll never get over this."

He nodded his head, and the two of them laid out the wood and placed her brother's body on top, lighting the pyre logs, and watching his body burn.

Eve

An alarm sounded, signaling that someone had entered the tower from below.

"Should we stop them?"

"No, let them have their fun. This should be entertaining enough to watch. Send the guardians down. I would think that to be enough to stop them. If it's not, it doesn't matter. They'll never get up here in time to stop the weapon."

She then looked at the camera following the intruders.

"Ho? Seems we have an interesting bunch here. Two humans and a demon. Oh, and it looks like… a Nasod-human hybrid? I wonder what he's doing lagging so far behind the others? This will be interesting, indeed~"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Rose

When they arrived at the village, it had been completely destroyed. Rubble was everywhere. Parts of burned buildings were scattered all over the place. It was hard to tell if it had just been burned, or it had been purposefully attacked, though she suspected the later.

"What in the world…?"

"This is awful…" Rena commented.

The others started having a few words about the town, while Rose went down to inspect the ash. It was cold, and there wasn't much of it. The wood fragments were cold as well, ad brittle.

"As terrible as this is, there's probably nothing we could have done. It's been this way for a while. Likely before we arrived on the island."

"But why would someone so this? Did they have something to hide?" Aisha questioned.

"If they did, the reason's probably hidden somewhere in the town, buried under the rubble. I think we should split up and search for it." Elsword offered.

"I think that would be best. To cover more ground." Rose confirmed.

With this, everyone seemed to agree and split up to search the town. She kicked over rubble, searched housed, and cleared light piles of ash. It almost seemed fruitless until she found something curious in one of the basements.

"I think I found whatever was being hidden." She called them over.

"This is… a door?" Elsword questioned.

"More to the point, the room is still intact. It makes me think that whatever happened here, wanted to preserve this place."

"But why preserve this place? What's so important behind that door?"

"There's only one way to find out." Aisha approached the door, opening it.

Rena

"An elevator?" They looked at a platform with what appeared to be two metal ropen on either side of it.

"Well, I guess there's only one way to move on!" Elsword walked onto the platform.

"Hey, are you crazy?! You don't know anything about the elevator! It could be rigged to make up fall to you deaths, or…"

"I know that it goes down."

"That's not what I-"

"Hey, I mean it hasn't fallen yet, so what's the harm? We don't know what's waiting for us at the bottom here anyway."

She sighed. There being no point in arguing with him anymore, she hesitantly got onto the elevator as well. As if it knew that was all of them, it began going down.

After a few minutes, she broke the silence between the two of them.

"So. You and Aisha last night~" She teased.

"Oh shut up. It wasn't like that."

"You sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! She couldn't sleep, and I was the only one awake at the time, so she came to talk to me."

"And what'd you say?"

"…I told her what she needed to hear."

"So it WAS like that, then~"

"I told you, it wasn't!"

She let out a light laugh. "What, I'm not going to get my obligatory 'No way! I'd never be with _her_! She's annoying!' this time?"

"Shut up!" He shoved her lightly to the side. "And I don't sound like that!"

"Whatever, Mr. Lovebird."

"Look, Aisha and I are just friends, and this journey helped us learn how to get along better. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Can you really not see it? How she keeps coming to you before anyone else?"

"What about it?"

Rena started laughing. "Elsword you really are a dumbass!"

"How am _I_ the dumbass? I haven't even done anything!"

"And that's exactly why!"

The air suddenly became cold, and the elevator paused for a moment. Both conversations stopped. From somewhere above, a black figure dropped onto the center of the platform.

Aisha

Where it came from, she had no idea, but someone who could land unaffected by a fall that high was probably dangerous. More so because it drew it's sword and seemingly prepared for battle.

Rose didn't hesitate in the slightest to draw her pistols and fire several shots at it. Each bullet bounced harmlessly off it before it charged her and kicked her against the wall, knocking her out. It then immediately turned around to block an attack from Elsword's blade with its own. It then pushed him off, kicking him to the ground and knocking him out as well. An arrow then hit it as Rena then lowered her bow. It then charged at her, attempting to kick her as she dodged before she began kicking in retaliation. Before long, it managed to grab her foot, and toss her to the side hard enough to knock her out as well.

And all Aisha could do was stand there and watch, completely in shock at how fast it was able to move. But after seeing all of her friends taken down so easily, she felt an anger inside her that made her able to fight.

"You… You'll pay for this!"

Her hands then glowed white as she used her magic to raise it into the air. She began to pull it apart, but instead something else happened. It seemed to… disappear. Whether it suddenly disappeared or it faded, she couldn't tell, but either way, it was now gone. Strangely enough, she didn't feel tired after using unrefined magical power like this. Or perhaps she did refine it. But the first thing she would have to do is to get her friends out of the elevator now that it had finally reached the bottom.

Eve

"Well, well. It seems that they managed to clear the first guardian with no problems whatsoever. It should be interesting to see if they get to the top~"

Her emotions like this were somewhat new to her, and she wasn't quite sure what caused them. However, had it not been for these developments, she wouldn't have been interested in seeing the capabilities of the intruders to the tower. She wouldn't really be interested in anything at all.

Though the chances of them making it to the top of the tower facing one guardian at a time was now 68.3%, the chances of them making it up in time to stop shut down the tower were 4.8%. And if they happened to hit that narrow window, she was pretty sure that she would be able to defeat them.

Warning

Unidentifiable energy signatures detected within a 20-foot radius

Within 20 feet?! How could something like that get that close before her systems noticed?!

She stood up and looked around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

"Who's there?!"

The other Nasods in the area looked around as well, none of them seeing anything.

Suddenly, a sound that could only be described as a cracking could be heard as a oddly shaped semi-transparent purple wall of what appeared to be glass formed in front of her.

"Eve, we need to talk."

That voice… could it be? She stepped closer to it and could then see a figure with striking white hair, and unmistakable purple eyes.

"Add?"

Raven

Something felt off about him being here. It was like some part of him was telling him he was fighting for the wrong side. He couldn't bring himself to fight whatever was in this tower.

Catching up to the others, de decided to talk to them about it.

"There's something I need to tell you all."

They looked around before Lu spoke up. "What? Why you missed the battle?" She teased.

"That's just it. I don't think I can fight whatever's in this tower."

"Raven, I know you're strong enough to-" Elesis was cut off.

"It's not about my power. I know I'm strong enough to take down anything I might come across. What I don't know is if it's this," He clenched the fist of his Nasod arm I front of him, "or something else, but I can't bring myself to fight against the tower."

"Raven, I don't… I just…"

He placed his human hand on her shoulder. "Elesis, none of this is your fault. This is a decision I've made on my own. I need to find out who I am now."

"Raven… you're a part of our team, are you not?"

"That's the thing. Am I really a member or a valued part if I can't help with this place? Trust me. You beat whatever was in here without any help at all from me."

"Raven, I… I understand. If you're sure this is what you really need, then go. I won't stand in your way."

"Thanks, Elesis. This isn't goodbye, it's just until next time, after all."

He turned around and went to leave the tower. There was something he wanted to investigate. He believed it to be on the outskirts of the island, though how he thought that, he had no idea. Maybe it was his arm again. Maybe it was something else. But one way or another, he would go and find out for himself what was there.

Lu

She'd be lying if she said Raven's leave didn't surprise her, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense to her. She began to see the points that he made. But it still felt strange without him around anymore. But she also knew they didn't have time to linger on the past.

They continued onward up the tower, though the walk was now quiet given Raven having just left. Once again, they were met with no resistance until they reached another room similar to the one they had just been in. This time, however, they were met with a cold air. Elesis once again brightened the room, and they were able to see a large, blue Nasod seeming to create ice.

Without thinking once again, she lunged in to attack it, her demon powers activating. Rather than dodging, it created a large chunk of ice in front of her thick enough to stop her momentum after she hit it. Standing on the ground, she got her first idea of how large it was. She snickered. It was only four times her height. She'd taken down enemies much larger than that.

She immediately leaped in again, this time striking at its legs and working her way up before it could retaliate. It seemed over until she stopped to look at it again after she landed back on the ground. It hap patched itself up as she had damaged it using ice. Not a bad strategy, she thought, but it of course has its flaws.

She leaped up once again; this time aiming solely at its chest, figuring its core would have to be somewhere near the center, and if it's not, then something important would be that would give her an edge. As she expected its core was there, and she was able to strike it before it could figure out to do anything to stop her, and the machine fell over, not moving.

Eve

All systems reactivating…

…

Reactivation complete.

Unregistered unit detected nearby

Queen Type B: identify race

Identifying…

2 results found

Target reads as human/Nasod

Terminate?

Queen Type B: No

It was a curious thing that the human/Nasod hybrid was approaching the factory. If he found it, it probably meant he had the help of his arm. The question she would have to ask him was whether he would side with the Nasods or the humans.

Queen Type B: Time until Factory=unusable

-12 minutes, 57 seconds remain

The update had taken longer than she had expected. Looking around, none of the Nasods she had been creating remained on the island, meaning that the process was completed. She had her hardware and software updated to meet the new demands of processing the information she was receiving on her system, estimating it to take approximately 10 hours to do so.

Seeing that one of the ships she had prepared remained on the island, she would take the time to go meet the hybrid. If he would side with her, she would take him with her as an asset. If he didn't, she would simply terminate him.

"You there. Don't move." She approached him, but remained a safe distance if he decided to attack. "Who are you, hybrid?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out. My old life is gone, and its replacement was a fake."

"Did you enjoy your old life?"

"You could say that, yeah."

"Then why would you not try to bring that life back?"

He sighed. "We were mercenaries, but on our own we fought to take down the evils that the law couldn't touch. Well, with the world in as much chaos as it is, it no longer needs a group like that. So I need to find somewhere else to do my part for the world."

"And if you do not find it?"

He hesitated. "I'll find somewhere. It's not a matter of if, but rather of when. Can I go now?"

"No. I more things I need to know. That arm. How and where did you get it?"

"When that son of a bitch backstabbed me, I was taken by a group to replaced my arm with it. I wasn't given much choice in the matter."

"If you were to choose between siding with humans or Nasods in a war between the two, which would you choose?"

"What is this, an interview? I suppose that would depend on if the humans would accept me despite my past. As I said, I don't really know where I fit in the world anymore."

"Then I have a proposition for you. I will give you a place in the world, and in exchange, you have to fight alongside me in the eminent war. Does that sound fair?"

"What do you mean, eminent? Last I checked, the Nasods were nearly extinct."

"I have revived the race only hours ago. I am not entirely surprised you do not know, but it is also surprising that your arm did not inform you of the fact."

"Well, it didn't. I only came over here on the gut feeling that there was something I wanted to investigate."

"Perhaps what you call a 'gut feeling' was your arms way of telling you of the revival. Now about my offer. Take it or leave it. This is the last chance."

"I'll take it, then." He extended his Nasod arm out to her.

She took a step back. "What are you doing?"

"I'm shaking your hand. Surely you've heard of it?"

"Of course I have heard of it, but it is not something Nasods need to do to solidify a deal."

"And as you can see, I'm not entirely Nasod. If you don't shake my hand, then I don't know if I can trust you, and I won't fight by someone I don't trust."

"Very well. But you will have to abide by our customs from now on, understood?"

"Sure, that's fair. My name's Raven, by the way."

"I am known to others as Eve." She reached out her hand.

"Okay, then. Eve. You have my sword." He grabbed her hand and shook it.

One ally was better than none, she supposed. The question now was where to begin her attack. She was now aware of the human capital having been destroyed, and no other place would hold a particular point of strategic advantage.

"As a human, what would you say would be the most devastating city to strike?"

He paused for a moment. "It's hard to say. Most of the major strongholds of Elrios has been taken or destroyed by the demon invasion."

"…the demon invasion?"

"Yeah. It started… I think a week or so ago? Had it not been for them, I'd say Velder would've been the most strategic place to hold, but I heard that the entire city was destroyed when some girl arrived and tried to free it. Other than that, it would be Hamel, but the demons opened a portal there, essentially making it the center of the invasion with nearly unlimited troops."

"You seem to be very knowledgeable of this invasion."

"That's because I'm the one who started the invasion of Hamel."

"You fought against your own people?"

"That was my fake life. The people who wanted the demons to invade changed my memories to make me their personal servant."

"I see. I have received information stating that Bethma may be a decent place, as the city is situated on a high ground, and as such gives us an advantage."

He thought a moment. "It's a little close to the Elven lands… but I think they'll be too busy with the demons to worry about something else."

"Are you certain?"

"No. As I said, I think that's what they'll do. No one's ever seen them fighting more than one force at a time."

"Very well. I will invade Bethma to gain a foothold in the area, and expand from there."

Ara

Though she was greatly saddened by the passing of her brother, and though the funeral brought her tears as she watched him burn, it also brought her satisfaction in knowing that he wouldn't do anymore hard to either the world or her family name. But this also meant that she was the last of her family. Her parents had been killed years ago by demons, and she had escaped with her brother.

The two of them had been searching for a way to find the demons that killed their parents and razed their village, and had come across a tome that may have held the answer. That was when her brother had been possessed.

"Chung… I have to get something. I have to know… Why did he end up like this?"

"Okay. I'll wait for you here, then. Call me if you need any help."

She walked off to the side of the temple, going up a set of stairs she had seen him go up often, but had never gone up herself. Reaching the top, she Not only found the tome, but something else she never imagined to see.

Running back down, she called out. "Chung, you might want to come and see this."

At the top of the stairs was a large ball of water, within which was the Water Priestess holding the tome.

"What the…"

"Should we… get her out?"

"That would definitely lower the flooding in the area."

"Flooding?"

"Yeah, in the priestess' absence, the rivers in the area have all been flooding. It's threatening any hopes of survival we have." He began reaching inside the bubble for the princess. "Could you give a little help here?"

She went around to the other side of the bubble and began pushing her out of the bubble with the back end of her spear. He then caught her hand held her by her armpits as she started a coughing fit, dropping the book in the process.

Her eyes trembled a little as she slowly woke up.

Chung

"Mmm…"

Her eyes trembled as they opened for what he could presume would be the first time since at least the invasion.

"Where…? Where am I…?"

"Easy, there. You're still in the Water Temple."

"Temple… Then are the demons…?"

"From the temple, yes, but there are still a lot in the city."

"The El… did you… get the El back?"

"The El? I didn't know the El was kept in the temple."

"I see. Then I guess there's no reason for me to stay here." She tried to stand up before falling back down.

"Hey, hey, take it easy. We're not in any great hurry here. You've been in that bubble for probably a couple of weeks. Let your body recover." He laid her down, sitting himself next to her afterwards.

She then gasped and tried to sit up as if remembering something. "The book!"

He looked confused. "The book?"

"The book! I was holding a book when I entered the bubble! Where is it?!" She was looking around frantically as if she was going to be killed for losing it.

"Take it easy. Ara has it."

"Ara Haan?! The girl who came here with that demon?!"

"Umm… Yes?"

"You need to stop her! She'll be possessed like her brother was!"

"Okay, okay. I'll take care of it. Just rest here and don't worry."

He laid her back down and went down the stairs to find Ara sitting with the book open on a bench near the bottom.

"Hey, maybe you should stop reading that. The priestess says you'll become possessed."

"I know, there's a warning about it on the first page. But as you can see, I'm fine and not possessed."

"So wait, you knew you were going to be possessed and decided to read it anyway?!"

"You wouldn't understand, Chung. I have to know."

"Understand what? What knowledge could be worth risking your life to know?"

"I have to know why he was possessed. What was it in this book that he just had to know that badly?"

"And what could you possibly do with that information? You won't be able to do anything anymore!"

She sighed and closed the book. "Fine. I'll put it down for now. But don't expect me to stop reading it. I have to know, Chung."

"Okay, fine. But if you feel anything at all feel off about the book, put it down immediately, promise?"

"Alright, fine. I can at least promise that much."

"Look, I just don't want you to fall like your brother did, is all. Mainly because I think that, after what we've been through, I don't think I could kill you if I needed to."

"Umm… Thanks?"

"Yeah… I'm going to… check back up on the priestess." He left her fully knowing that she was probably going to resume her reading as soon as he started up the stairs.

He reached the top of the stairs and sat down next to the priestess, who seemed to have fallen asleep.

"Sleep for now. We'll make the trip back when you wake up."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Aisha

"Aisha…?"

She gently opened her eyes on hearing his voice. "You finally woke up."

"What do you mean 'finally'?"

"You've been out for a few hours." She let out a light laugh. "Looks like _I'm_ the one who saved _you_ this time."

He turned his head away slightly, scratching the back of his head. "Uh, yeah, thanks, I guess. Just… don't let this go to your head, alright? I don't plan on making this a habit!"

"Oh, come on! You mean you don't plan on getting beaten up a lot?" She shoved him playfully. "Have some excitement in your life for once, Elsword!"

"Well, if it's excitement you want," He leaden over and wrapped his arms around her, "then why don't I become the villain and kidnap you!"

She couldn't help but laugh. Neither could Rena, apparently, as she walked over. "Oh get a room, you two!"

Aisha the realized how close she was to Elsword, and became incredibly flustered, breaking away and walking a few steps before folding her arms. "N-no way! With him? Ha! As if! With someone like Elsword? D-don't make me laugh! Elsword and I could never be together! For one, we don't even _like_ each other! We only hang out because we do the same kind of work! Plus, I- Hey, are you even listening to me?!"

Elsword

Rena sighed with a nervous smile on her face. "Well, at least _she's_ still giving that rant."

"What do you mean, 'that rant'?"

"The rant about why you two won't be together. You used to give it too, you know."

"Huh, really?"

"Yeah. I think you've kind of gotten used to the idea, to be honest."

"Idea of what?"

"I see you still haven't figured it out."

"Figured what out?!"

"Oh nothing~ I'm sure you'll find out eventually."

"Hey, are you even listening to me?!" Aisha had an angry expression on her face, but it didn't really work. Her small size had something cute about it. "Elsword and I are just friends, got it?! Just. Friends. Nothing more!"

He couldn't explain it, but it kind of hurt when she said those words. Not that she was wrong, though. They were "just friends", as she put it. So why then did it hurt him so much to hear those words?

Rena was looking at him for confirmation.

"It's like she said. The two of us aren't a… thing. 'Us' isn't happening. Like she said, we're just friends, after all."

It hurt him more to say those words than it did to hear them. Again, he didn't understand why. They were just two little words. So then, why?

Before he could get his answer, Rose stepped in from a nearby hallway.

"I'd hate to be the one to end our recovery time, but I found something that I have a feeling we may need to act on now."

Rose

Going back down the hallway, this time with everyone, they were met with a large, open chamber, with a smaller sphere in the center, being held up with what she could reasonably assume was the bottom on the black tower up above ground, and the same below it.

"Any ideas on what it could be?"

Rena thought a moment. "Well, if the stories are true, then I suppose that would be the core of Altera. In ancient times when the Nasods were still around, it provided power to all of them using something that I think was called Diceon."

"So that makes it the power source for that tower, right?"

"If it's attached like that, it has to be used for something." She nodded.

"Then I suppose we should destroy it?"

"Now hold on," Elsword spoke up, "we don't actually know anything about the tower. For all we know, it could be some kind of beacon that… does something good."

"…You hadn't thought that out at all, had you?" Aisha teased him.

"I _do_ think we should investigate, at the very least," Rena replied.

"Then we should make our way down, I guess," Rose suggested.

Reaching the bottom of the path, they were met with a large, bay-styled door, white like everything else in the room.

"So… how do we get in?" Rena asked the question everyone was thinking.

"We could knock," Elsword suggested.

She couldn't tell whether or not he was joking.

"Yeah, like _that'll_ work," Aisha commented.

"Hey, you never know until you try." He started walking up to the door.

"There MUST me a control panel somewhere. I'll see if I can find it."

Elsword then knocked on the door. Much to everyone's surprise, it actually started to open with a massive rumble.

Aisha went up to him and smacked the back of his head. "What if that had activated some kind of security system and gotten us all killed?"

"Hey, at least I tried something~"

"Don't you blow this off mister! I'm not done with you yet!"

The two of them walked into the core, Aisha still trying to scold him.

"Well, I guess that means we're not going to scout ahead first." She started to walk in, and Rena followed shortly behind.

Rena

Inside they were met by an enormous Nasod, several times the size of anything else they had yet faced, seemingly ready to attack them.

"Intruders detected. Eliminate." It spoke in a low, robotic tone.

"I… I don't think we can do anything to it like this…" Rena stood in awe.

"You never know until you try!" Elsword puffed his chest with pride. Running at it, he attempted to strike it with his sword, only to find that it did absolutely nothing. The Nasod then swatted at him, knocking him back. Having time to prepare, he landed on his feet with a hand on the ground to stabilize himself as he slid back.

"Okay, I've tried now. I can testify to that statement, Rena."

She sighed. "Maybe we should fall back for now. Come back with a plan."

In the same moment, the doors behind them closed.

"Alright. Never mind. We'll have to figure this out in here!" She jumped out of the way with the others as the Nasod slammed it's arm where the group had once been standing.

She heard Rose call out: "Everyone, split up! It can't hit all four of us it we do!"

It wasn't the best plan, but she had a point. It still only had two arms, so it could only go after two of them at once. She started running around the ring just on the inside of the sphere, taking note when she saw a door on the other side of the room from the one they had entered.

After running about a quarter of the way, she encountered a tube that seemed to be emitting a red light. Not knowing what it would do (and not seeing any other options), she stood a good distance away from it and fired an arrow. Apparently it was fragile, because when her arrow struck it, it exploded.

The Nasod seemed to hesitate after the explosion, which tipped her off on an idea to beat it. Her ran to the others and told each of them "If you see a tube emitting some sort of light, break it. It seems to damage this thing!"

She found Aisha sort of spacing out when she got around to her. "Aisha, you okay? Aisha?" She placed a hand on her shoulder and tried again. "Aisha?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I was… thinking. What is it?"

"I think I know how to beat this thing."

"Actually, I think I have a way too."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. We just need to get it's attention."

She fired an arrow at it's head, and it turned towards them.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"…So do I."

She wouldn't have much time to think, as the Nasod began to move it's arm to punch the two of them. She appeared to begin concentrating, and white sparkles appeared in front of her. Just before the punch reached them, the sparkles turned into a white wall, of which the arm seemingly disappeared into. When it's movement finished, Aisha stopped concentrating, what the white disappeared, the arm being cut off where it had entered the white, and a think liquid began spraying out of it, coating the both of them.

"Eww, yuck!"

Aisha had her arms out trying to shake the stuff off of herself.

Rena then saw an opportunity. She grabbed one of her arrows, and wrapped the tip in a material she had in her bag, and lit it on fire using a flint stone she had.

"Chances are, this won't work, but…" She fired the arrow into its cut-off arm, and the black liquid caught fire, and it spread up the arm and through the rest of the Nasod, causing it to blow up.

Elesis

With the Nasod destroyed, the only thing they had to was to continue up the tower.

"Nice going, Lu."

"Thanks. I may _look_ young, but that doesn't mean that I'm not a master of fighting like this!"

"Well, I don't know about mastered, but you certainly know how to use your powers really well."

"Oh really? Why would you say that?"

"For the same reason that I haven't mastered the usage of my claymore. I might be really good, maybe even the best, but that's not enough to have mastered something. For me, mastery of something comes when you've mastered all the things that a given skill uses, making it nearly impossible to best you, even if you were to lose the thing you need most to do that skill. It comes with improvisation. For you, that would mean being able to win a fight if you lost all of your powers. For me, that would be being able to win without my weapon."

"So being the best doesn't make you a master. Sitting on the top isn't enough."

"Exactly. So while I may be the best at using a claymore, it's possible that people below me less skilled at using the weapon could have mastered it, because while my technique has been called flawless, there are other factors of mastery."

"But what about someone who's unable to achieve some sort of mastery because of a physical limitation? If someone loses their leg, would they then be unable to master running?"

"Given nothing, that's what I believe. However, magic can do a lot. Even resorting someone's ability to run. For example, if they were to use magic to animate a leg made of stone, they would be able to run again. The only thing holding them back would be their own mental state. That being said, if they don't have the opportunity, they can still be closer to being a master even if they don't have the ability to do the activity based on the other skills involved."

"So for most, there's nothing that could be done?"

"Not usually. For most, a handicap will prevent them from becoming a master. However, being able to use a skill exceedingly even with a handicap is what makes someone a master."

"That's an interesting way of thinking. It would almost suggest that no one could ever become a master. But what would someone do if they ever did achieve mastery?"

"They fight with other masters until they come to a stalemate."

"You seem pretty familiar with this."

"I'll tell you about it later. Seems we've entered the next chamber."

Lu

The Nasod at the back of the chamber looked exactly like the other one, except that it was red instead of blue. Making a little bit of fire, Elesis smiled.

"You two should sit this one out. I can take care of this one." Elesis spoke, taking a step forward.

"Wait, why?"

"You two have both taken down one of them. Plus, remember what I said about mastery? This thing's probably immune to fire, meaning I can't use my magic against it. So you two just sit and wait here. I'll take care of it."

Before she could stop her, Elesis ran off, surrounding her sword in flamed despite what she just said. Approaching the Nasod, she leaped into the air, swinging her sword towards the Nasod.

In retaliation, the Nasod coated it's arm with fire, and pushed the fire towards her to prevent her from landing the blow. She couldn't see how close Elesis' blade got, but she was clearly pushed back a notable distance, and flames were scattered everywhere.

Elesis grinned, wrapping her sword in more flames and charging it again. This time, when the Nasod blocked, the fire spiraled out in all directions, surrounding the two of them in a dome of fire. It soon dissipated, leaving them surrounded by a raging ring of flames. It was clear from the scrapes on her face that she had lost that attack as well.

"That's enough. I'm going to help her."

Ciel then placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "No. Let her do this."

"But she's losing miserably! There might not be a later if we don't step in."

"It may look like that, but look at her face. That smile. She has something planned that the Nasod hasn't figured out yet. However, with her in this state, another blow from the Nasod is all it would take for her to lose this fight. However, it looks like both of their strategies rely on retaliation. So whoever moves first is going to lose this fight."

Elesis could then be heard monologing.

"You think that just because you're built for this, you can't lose, right? You're built to deal with high-intensity fire, and your parts can't be damaged by normal weapons, I'd wager. Well, tell you what? I don't need this weapon of mine." She tossed it aside. "Nor do I need magic. All I need to win is my burning desire to avenge those who fell by my side. That's just something you couldn't possibly hope to understand!"

She then began to rush the Nasod one last time, and the wall of flames rose once again, blocking Lu's vision of the interior of the chamber.

Raven

He had taken the Nasod's offer and gone with her down to the surface, near Bethma. It felt a little strange, from following the orders of someone he wasn't allowed to know, to someone who picked him up for what he was. Now he was back to leading an army, but of a different kind.

"The lizards here only use primitive combat methods, so you shouldn't have any problems taking them out."

"My sources have also informed me as such. It should not take more than half an hour to claim the valley. I will watch over your progress from the top. I will expect you to arrive with your report at the end of the given time."

"Of course, my queen. It will be done."

With that said, he then headed down the cliff side, the army of nasods behind him, and charged directly into the village, destroying everything in his path. As a force, they never stopped moving forward. There were no survivors. And as far as he could tell, he would have just enough time to make it back up to the cliff before the half hour was up.

Eve

He had completed his mission, and in less time than she thought possible. It seems that the notion of humans being able to do what they believed to be possible was true after all. She would keep that in mind when she assigned him missions in the future.

"My queen, we have achieved a flawless victory. Complete decimation of the enemy, and no loss on our side."

"No battle is without cost, Raven."

"…Pardon?"

"While we may not have lost any units, Nasods need a source of power, as we cannot simply eat and recover. This was the second reason I chose this location. I have detected large amounts of Diceon here, a fuel source that can practically keep our kind running forever. Your next mission is to begin a mine and a refinery while I set up a factory to produce new units."

"Understood. I will begin work on this at once."

He left to return to the valley below.

It was a risky move, setting up buildings without a proper defense given that it was the low ground, but if she were to build a proper defensive system around the valley, it might look suspicious, and draw unwanted attention. For the time being, this would be the safer option to ensure that she would be able to invade all of Elrios and create a perfect world for the Nasod race. Soon, this would be her world. Her utopia.

Chung

The priestess had woken back up, but was in no condition to travel. As a result, he and Ara had her arms around their shoulders as they traveled back to the port. This posed no problem for them until they reached the walls of the demon infested city, at which point he had the other two hide behind a cliff face near the city's gate.

"You two sit here and rest for a bit. I'm going to do some reconnaissance and clear the front gate."

"Actually, Chung, why don't I do that? You've been working hard at this for a while now, and you look like you could use some rest."

"Because I know the layout of the city like the back of my hand, and we're traveling with an injured person."

"…that's fair, I suppose."

"I'll tell you now that we're going to have to make a stop shortly before we arrive at the port simply for the reason of that's where the enemy defensives will be the thickest."

"Okay, thanks for the heads up."

He left in a different direction than the gate, knowing of a side passage into the city. Normally, he would have taken that path anyway, but if the two of them had to carry the priestess, it would be easier to clear the gate and have them enter that way.

He then scouted ahead, checking for the routes of the guards, which haven't seemed to change from when before he left. Keeping track of when most of them were moving, he then turned back and headed for the gate, knowing he would have to be fast about clearing the gate so that no other guards would come and block him in. To give himself the maximum time, he sat and waited for the replacement guards to come and the old ones to leave before entering the gate. Inside, he didn't face much of a problem. He made sure to move quickly and watch his back, and in only a few minutes, he reached the top of the gate and opened it, leaving to pick up Ara and the priestess.

Ara

Chung watched the guards very closely and only spoke at all when giving simple instructions such as "Wait…" and "Run!" She'd have to admit, it was probably for the best that he had gone instead of her. While he was gone for maybe about an hour, she probably would have been searching the city all day for the port, and would probably have been noticed somewhere on the way.

After a short while, he had taken them down a dark alley and sat them down again.

"Wait here. If anyone comes up to you, and I'm not with them, don't go with them. Even if they say that I sent them ahead. Even if they have my seal. Trust no one."

"Got it. I'll stay here to protect the priestess and will wait for you to come back."

He promptly left in a swift motion.

After a few minutes passed, she noticed the priestess wasn't really asleep, so she decided to break the silence.

"So, uh… I guess being a priestess is hard work?"

"Mmm… Not really. Usually I just have to contain the power of the El, which in this case can be used to prevent the area from flooding, and I'm sure the other priestesses use the power to do something similar. But with the El gone, I don't have enough power to stop the area from flooding. That said, I don't really know what happens when the El goes missing, because it's never happened before."

"Well, what about before the El separated? Didn't the priestesses still have a role?"

"Before the El was separated, the priestesses made sure the El remained stable, and used the aspects of the El to pretty much do what we do now, just on a much larger scale, having more of the El to work with. At least, that's what I'm told. None of the priestesses of the time survived the explosion."

"I see. So you were the one who was chosen to replace her, then?"

"Um… no, I'm… I'm not _that_ old. Actually, I was only chosen a few years ago, so I'm pretty new at this."

"Oh, I see. Do you know what happened to the last one, then?"

"I… they never told me, and I don't know if they ever were going to. They're certainly not now that I've screwed up the one job I was given." She put her face in her hands.

"Hey now, don't blame yourself too much. Look around. These demons have clearly been planning this for a long time. They probably knew what you were capable of and had multiple layers planned."

"That's… I don't think that was as helpful as you thought it would be."

She thought about it for a minute. "Yeah. That came out a little wrong. Sorry."

The priestess rubbed her eye as if she was tired. "It's okay. I know you were just trying to help."

Footsteps could then be heard nearby, and they both went silent. Not long after guards in the Hamel uniform approached them.

"You two must be Ara and the priestess. Chung sent us to take you two to the port to receive medical treatment for any injuries you may have."

"Really? Where is he, then?"

"He's fighting in front of the gate, buying time to get you in. Here." He gave them a wax seal. "He told us to give this to you to let you know that we're on his side."

"You know? Funny you should say that. Because he said not to trust anyone unless he was with them. So I think we'll just wait for you to come back with him, then."

"Really, miss Ara. I must insist. You'll see him as soon as we get back. You must understand, this is an emergence situation, and we don't know how long he can hold them all off."

"And I'm telling you that if Chung won't come here himself, then we're not moving! Besides, this seal is clearly well-made, but it's obviously a fake. Anyone who's familiar at all with it would know that."

"Alright. We tried being nice. Give us the girl and the book, Ara Haan. If you don't, then we'll just have to kill you to get them."

"Wait, you kept the book?!" The priestess interjected.

"Yes, of course I kept the book!" Ara yelled back.

"You were supposed to destroy it! You could be possessed!"

"Oh for the love of- I know! It says so on the first page as a warning!"

"Wait, you _read_ it, too?!"

"Of course I read it! How else am I supposed know what it says?!"

"If you'll excuse me, girls, I believe I said I was going to kill you?"

"Shut it! You don't stand half a chance, dimwits!" She raised her spear in one hand, placing her other hand out. "Try me!"

"Don't get too cocky!" He ran at her, drawing his sword.

She was easily able to pierce his neck with her spear before he was close enough to strike her, and he fell to the ground when she removed the blade from his neck. The rest all charged her at once, and she closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Her free hand began to be surrounded by a field of purple. Grabbing her spear with both hands, the spear then began to glow as well. She opened her eyes with a ferocious look and stabbed the spear out, the magic she had imbued into it moving out to strike all the opponents before her, going straight through them.

"Oh, so not only did you _read_ the book, but you're _using_ things in the book?! You know that means-"

"Good lord! I know! I know that it means I've voided all the abilities I get from my family name! I can read the front page!"

"Then why would you use them?!"

"Because my family line is already dead!" She grabbed the priestess' hand and ran out of the area they were in and continued down the road they had been headed down.

"But weren't we supposed to wait for Chung?"

"Does it look like we have time to wait? They know where we are, and if they send too many, we can't possibly win!"

They continued running for a short distance until they turned a corner and saw chung in battle with several guards against some demons in front of a gate.

"Hey, I told you two to wait!"

"Yeah? Your hiding spot wasn't very hidden!"

She turned to run through the gate and heard Chung order a retreat.

"What were you two thinking?! You could've made a wrong turn and ran into a heavily guarded area!"

"Chung, listen. About five Hamel guards came in and demanded I hand over both the priestess and the book. If they found us, it was only a matter of time before the others came as well."

He sighed. "Ara… at least neither of you got hurt. Priestess, you should head to the medical area over there."

"Sasha." She replied.

"What?"

"My name. It's Sasha. You don't have to call me priestess. It starts getting old after a while."

"Okay, then. Sasha, go see the people in the medical area. You still look pretty tired."

She nodded and headed over.

"Chung, I…"

"Looks like we're out of tents for non-medical purposes."

"…what?"

"We don't have a place of your own to stay, but you should probably stay with me in the gatehouse, if you'd like."

"Oh, um… sure, I guess. But Chung, I-"

"Ara, stop. Don't apologize. You did the right thing. I was just a little stressed from fighting. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. It was wrong of me to snap at you like that."

"Chung… thank you." She went up and hugged him.

Ain

"Glave… why are you helping me like this."

"Well, let's just say you have your reasons, and I have mine. We all have secrets, after all. Now if I were you, I would get to collecting those shards. Who knows when it'll arrive?" He faded into the darkness that was Henir.

Things were bigger than he had possibly imagined. So what then was his purpose of originally being created? Was it to watch that person? Was it to be a pawn? Was it to be the centerpiece of the situation? He didn't know anymore. And he wouldn't be able to find out until he completed his mission.

He collected the remaining fragments of the El he could find in the ruins, absorbing them as to not let them fall into Henir's hands, and left to seek out the other fragments.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Eve

System: Hey

…

System: Hey Eve

…

System: Eve, wake up

…

System: Eve, we gotta go, like, now

Queen Type E: 5 more minutes

System: Eve, we don't have 5 minutes.

Queen Type E: Fine. We'll go when the blackbox software updates.

System: Well here's the thing. The blackbox doesn't appear to exist at all

Queen Type E: What? What happened to it? Update everything.

System: That's just it. None of it exists anymore. The only explanation I can come up with is that Void has been activated.

Queen Type E: What?! Well who activated it?!

System: Here's the thing. There's no register on that. It seems to have activated on it's own.

Queen Type E: But it can only be activated with a queen's or king's code, and I'm pretty sure Adam never knew it existed…

4 life signatures detected

System: Oh, great. Just what we need. Now let's go, before they find us.

Queen Type E: Identify them

System: Oh, for the love of

Identities unknown

1 human male, 2 human females, 1 elven female found

System: DON'T YOU DARE CUT ME OFF LIKE THAT!

System: Now, as I was saying, we need to leave

Queen Type E: I wonder if they're friendly

System: Eve, no. We don't have time for this.

Queen Type E: Activate sensory input

System: You're lucky You're in charge, here

"Hey, there's a girl over there!" The human male began to run over to her

System: This is bad. This is bad. This is bad. THIS IS REALLY BAD!

"Elsword, you dummy! Don't just run over like that! We don't know if they're dangerous!"

System: Oh, one of them has some sense. Maybe he'll go away.

Queen Type E: Label the male as "Elsword"

Subject identified as "Elsword"

"Hey, you okay? You're a little cold."

"Well, of course she's cold, you idiot! She's been down here for who knows how long, and given that, she's probably dead!"

Queen Type E: I don't like her.

System: Oh, you don't like her. SHE'S the one you don't like.

Queen Type E: Hey, the boy at least seems nice

"Like she says, I've been down here for a while. I'm not dead though."

"Wah!" He jumped back a short distance.

System: Eve, you know these people are probably your enemy, right?

Queen Type E: Oh, shut up.

System: Don't you te

User "System" has been muted by user "Queen Type E"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

"N-no, I just… wasn't you expecting you so sound so lively after being that still."

Queen Type E: That's what being scared is, is it not?

"So how long have you been down here? You were pretty cold."

Queen Type E: How long have I been asleep?

"A few weeks maybe?" He continued to guess

Estimated 272 years, 8 months, 4 days, 17 hours, 12 minutes, and 56 seconds

"Yeah, something like that." She laughed nervously.

User "System" has been unmated by user "System"

System: I'd hate to break it to you, but we have approximately 46 seconds until the island explodes from Void being unregulated.

"Anyway, we should go. This place doesn't look like it'll stay afloat for much longer."

"Really? What makes you say that?"

The girl with purple hair interjected. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that that everything is starting to break and fall apart around us?!" He grabbed his hand and pulled him towards a hole in the wall revealing the outside. "I'm only going to offer this once, but if you want to come with us, I'll help you down. Take it or leave it."

System: You're not taking it.

Queen Type E: Oh, I am so totally taking it.

"Thank you. I… don't really have another option, so I guess I'll go with you for now."

System: You realize that they don't know you're a Nasod, right?

Queen Type E: Why does it matter?

System: Because if they estimate your weight to be that of a normal human, you'll drop like a stone.

Queen Type E: Well, it's that, or be exploded up here.

The others joined the three of them and they quickly jumped out of the island and entered free fall.

Lu

As they continued up the tower from the fire nasod, the tower began break, and sparks flew out from the walls around them. It didn't take them long to figure out that the tower was going to explode.

Upon reaching the throne room at the top, they then found out why it was exploding. The room was empty. No people, no Nasods, nothing. Just an empty room with a couple control panels, a throne with what appeared to be purple glass fragments around it, and what appeared to be an emergency exit of sorts.

While the others looked around, she decided to investigate the escape pod. It was small enough to hold a few people, but there was a noticeable flaw that she saw.

Her investigation was cut off by an alarm telling them that destruction was imminent. The others hurried to the escape pod.

"Will it work?" Elesis asked, almost frantically.

"Yes, and I think I know how to use it." Seeing Ciel was in the pod, she prepared herself for what she was about to do.

"You know, back when I was the ruler of the demon world, demons- people called me evil, a villain, a tyrant. They said I was unfit to rule. Looking back, I'm starting to think that they were right."

"What's with this all of a sudden? Have you come to some sort of revelation?"

"You could say that. You know, there was a man in another world. He said 'It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done; It is a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known.'" Her heart was pounding with sorrow. "Thank you, Elesis. For everything."

She had a confused look on her face, and Lu took this opportunity to shove her inside the pod, and pressed the button on the side, causing the glass door to slam shut. Both of them looked wide eyed before Elesis sprang back to the glass door.

"Lu, what are you doing?! Get in here before it's too late!" She could barely hear her through the door.

"My whole life, I've done nothing but live for myself. I took things from others, killed those who threatened my rule, and added to my own power. I used to think that there was no point in paying attention to others. You helped me see that there's more than that. You showed me the wonders of living for other people. But at the end of the day, I'm still me. I can't escape from the crimes I've committed. I'm too far gone. This is something I only realized when the alarm went off. Why is it that we only realize our sins when everything's come to an end? Elesis, answer that for me, will you? Ciel. You've more that satisfied me with your carrying out of our contract. I hereby release you from my service. But if you'll take one last greedy desire of mine, I'd really appreciate it."

"Lu, what are you talking about?! There's not much time left! Get in here!"

She shook her head. "I'm going to meet those friends you always talked about, Ciel. Probably. I have to face my sins. So take care of her more me, Ciel."

She pressed the button again, launching them from the tower. Tears then started rolling down her cheek. Realizing this, she covered her eyes with her hands and fell to the floor.

"What's this? Tears? Am I really that sad about this? What I've done in the past? I don't know anymore."

The tower began shaking.

"I'm scared. I don't want to die. Ciel, come save me like you always do. I'm so scared. I don't want to die. I don't-"

Elesis

She had launched them without much warning. She slammed her hands on the glass. A bright light filled the pod, blinding them. When the light faded, the entire island was gone.

"No!" She fell to her knees, tears entering her eyes. "No…"

The pod landed somewhere in Lanox, based on the ash everywhere. Fitting, she though, given what had just happened. Everyone was leaving her. She couldn't take much more of this. Leaving the pod, she sat on the ash outside with her head between her knees.

Ciel

He had seen Elesis depressed before, but this time, something was different. Her eyes were blank, emotionless. They lacked substance.

He walked over to her. "Elesis, I-"

"How long?" her voice was cold.

"…what?"

"How long until you die, too?"

"What are you talking about? I'm not dying anytime soon."

"Everyone dies eventually. Especially those who associate with me. Death most enjoy this kind of torture."

"Elesis, you can't blame yourself for her death! It was her own choice to sacrifice herself so that we could go on!"

"I'm the one who wanted to give chase! I'm the one who wanted to go up the tower! I'm the one who caused all this mess! And now she, like so many others, is dead because of me and my selfish desires!"

"Elesis, stop! You're not going to do yourself anything but harm if you keep talking like this!"

"It's too late for that. Everyone always sees me as this shining beacon of hope, and does things to try to catch up to me. What they don't realize is that I'm not the beacon, and that most of them are already ahead of me. I've spent my whole life trying to catch up to the people I care about, and every time, they end up dying."

"Elesis… Remember what kept you going? You wanted to avenge the people who stood next to you. I also want to take down the person responsible for this more than ever. For Lu."

"…You know? You're right. But that's where our goals take different paths. You want justice. I want vengeance."

"Is this your way of saying goodbye?"

"You could say that. We probably won't meet each other again. If we do, it'll be for very different reasons."

"Then in that case, this truly is goodbye, Elesis."

Aisha

She had suspected the girl wasn't a human race from the beginning. The jewel on her forehead gave it away. She was probably Nasod. Though she didn't really trust Nasods, she didn't seem to want to attack them, so she would at least see her to the surface. She used her wind magic to create a strong enough up force to have them slowly fall to the ground. Though she was pretty sure she had figured out how to use dimensional magics, she was uncertain of her ability to control them.

The Nasod was heavier than she thought it would be, and she fell pretty fast, even with the up force from her wind magic affecting her. Shortly after they had left, however, the island exploded behind them, sending them hurtling down towards to sea below.

Scraps and pieces of the island, including rocks, metal beams, and other, smaller pieces went shooting past them, hitting the water well before them. Thinking quickly, she reactivated her wind magics, first slowing their fall, and second covering them from debris using what she was pretty sure were her new magics.

The only problem was the Nasod. She was already using most of her magic power on the others, who she knew couldn't possibly survive the fall. If she really was a Nasod, the fall wouldn't kill her. It would be the water soaking her systems.

As they approached the water level, Elsword appeared to be trying to yell at her, but what it is that he was trying to say was lost in the speed of their decent. Upon realizing that she couldn't hear him, he then pointed down towards the Nasod who was still falling much faster than the rest of them. She rolled her eyes and started adjusting the amount of wind she was using on the others to provide extra lift to the Nasod.

She carefully set them down on a piece of scrap metal that had a large enough dent in it to work as a boat before Elsword immediately decided to try and scold her about her decision making.

"Aisha, what was that?"

"Elsword, it's not what you think. I-"

Rena thankfully stepped in to her rescue. "What's going on here?"

"Aisha was going to let that girl drop!"

"I was getting to that, Elsword! I was going to say that she would have been fine because she's-"

"It doesn't matter who she is or what she's capable of! The simple fact of the matter is that you said you were going to help her!"

"Elsword, calm down." Rena continued to side with her. "Remember that Aisha's still not sure the extent of her powers. I'm sure she tried her best, and when she figured out that she could take care of herself, she put more effort onto us, who couldn't really do anything."

"I agree with Elsword on this one," Rose chimed in. "Aisha said she would help her, but if she didn't put as much effort into her, then she was breaking her word."

"Umm, actually, Aisha's right. I would have been just fine." The Nasod came in, but the others were fighting amongst themselves, so they didn't pay attention to it.

At this point, she was fed up with all this non sense and sat down, beginning to feel dizzy. The Nasod joined her.

"Those friends of yours are really something… Aisha, was it?"

"I know you can store that better that you show."

"…what do you mean?" It looked confused.

"I know you're a Nasod. I've known it from the start. Why do you think I wasn't in favor of Elsword talking to you?"

"You've… known from the start…"

"Well, if you wanted to hide it, you might have started with that jewel on your forehead. It's a dead giveaway."

It reached up to touch it. "Is it really? I… I had no idea."

She sighed. "Well, it seems the others haven't pieced it together yet, or at least if they have, they don't care."

"I… I see. But if you knew… why'd you help me?"

"Elsword saw something in you. He trusted you. Though I think he trusts people too easily, he's never been wrong about it."

"Is that so?"

"Anyway, I think we should properly introduce each other. I'm Aisha Landar, Battle Magician."

"Eve, queen of the Nasods."

"Wait, THE Eve? The one from the war all those generations ago?!"

"Um… yes? I mean, you're a Landar. Your family also had quite the presence in that same war."

"So then you fought against one of my ancestors?"

"I believe so. She was quite talented."

"She was. I heard that she blew you up, though?"

"That's a bit of an exaggeration. Though she did cause critical damage to my systems, she was pretty worse for wear after that fight as well."

"I see. So you're pretty good at fighting, then."

"Well, it was more of the fact of the materials used in making me are more resistant to magic than others, so most of her attacks didn't do anything to me."

"So then how did she damage you?"

"She manipulated the ground rather than directly use magic."

"And that caught you unaware?"

"She figured out that if she thought through an idea, I would figure it out as well, so she stopped thinking about things, and started doing them as they came to her."

"So you actually had the upper hand through most of the battle?"

"Yes. In fact, I believe it was when she defeated me that the Nasods began losing. It was also what made me seek to become more human."

"So that's why you're acting like this. To possibly understand that kind of thinking?"

"Exactly."

"That's so cool! I mean, that you were once enemies with my ancestor, and I'm becoming friends with you."

"Actually, we were friends before the war as well."

"You're joking."

"Not at all. The war was pretty short. Only ten years or so. I obviously wasn't around to see the end of it."

"That's so cool! Do you think it's possible that your friendship transcended just a single lifetime?"

"Do you want to know what's funny about that? That's what she asked me after our fight all those years ago."

"Wow. You know, I didn't really trust you at first, obviously, but I think you're okay. You seem too… genuine to be trying to fool me. I can see why Elsword trusted you now."

Their conversation was interrupted by the others, who were still arguing. Namely, Elsword. "Hey, you agree with us that Aisha should have helped you more, right?"

"Um, actually, I think she was making the right call helping you guys out first."

"What?! But she-"

"I told you earlier my thoughts, but you were too busy bickering with yourselves to bother paying attention to what I had to say about it. Personally, I find that more offensive."

"What? But I-"

"Hah! See, she agrees with me!" Rena said, unusually aggressive.

"Either way guys, you should just stop fighting about it. We've already talked it out and we're fine now." Aisha jumped in to stop the fighting, and took another deep breath. "Any way, let me introduce you guys. This is Eve. She's… a friend of my parents."

"…Your parents? She seems a little…young." Rose commented.

"Yeah? And? She's very good at what she does. She's a little older than I am, but that doesn't really change much."

"…And what is she so good at? You're being kind of vague. It's… kind of unlike you, Aisha." Rena questioned.

"Gathering information. She's a valuable resource, so my parents made frequent contact."

"One question," Elsword started, "Why did you say she was probably dead, then?"

"That's the last I'd heard. She stopped responding, so we assumed that she was dead."

"I lied, another question. You said you didn't know her. Why's that?"

"Here's the thing. I've never actually met her. My parents have, but I never actually got to see her."

"I see. You look kind of tired. Maybe you should just get some sleep. I'll take care of getting us back to solid ground, okay?"

Eve

The world was about to change on a fundamental level. That was the basics of what Add had told her. She would come out on top of everything, above even Add. She had a plan. And it started with her collecting the El. The core fragment had exploded near Bethma, and she would go to collect it's pieces.

The Wind El, much to her surprise, was already in her possession. The blackbox software. There was a physical box what contained all the data and memories. Being able to contain that kind of information requires a lot of energy. To which, the one who built the box used the Wind El for. Add had given her the box, meaning she was now in possession of the Wind El, and the power of the wind in general.

That would be two pieces of seven. As for the others, she believed she wouldn't have to deal with seeking them out. Others would undoubtedly be searching for them as well. All she would have to do is take them form the others, which she believed would be no problem for her.

As for Add, he showed no interest in them whatsoever. The power. The title. He didn't care for any of it. As for her, he seemed to want her to go after the power. He clearly had something else planned.

Ain

Someone had found the shards before him. She arrived at the area to find it completely empty of any shards. He may not get any other parts of the central fragment, but he still knew that there were other fragments that had still not been removed.

Feeling the land, he was aware that the Water, Dark, Wind, and Light El fragments were no longer where they were, and that the life in the area was draining away. Though we was saddened by the power of Elria draining away, he knew it was a necessary sacrifice if the world was to be reborn.

Fortunately for him, he alone knew where the Earth El was hidden away. Buried underneath the desert of Sander, keeping the behemoth subdued. The removal of the Seal would release it's wrath on the land of Sander, possibly killing millions. But if this is what it took to see his utopia become a reality, then those sacrifices would have to be made.

Chung

The water levels were rising to a dangerous level just outside the gate. Just overnight, it reached halfway up to the seal in the center of the gate. They would have to move soon, but the question was where? They were backed into a corner with only a single ship, which wouldn't be able to move everyone in time. He had to secure higher ground. What better place than the highest point in the area, the palace?

To clear the palace, he would first have to close the portal to the demon realm to prevent new units from arriving and surrounding them. The building in which the portal was kept was not much higher than the gate was, so they would probably close the portal soon, assuming they knew about the rising water.

The fastest and safest way to the portal, he figured, was to travel across the rooftops. They probably wouldn't be expecting an attack with the water levels this high, so they would probably be more focused on leaving that guarding any one or thing they were transporting.

He called some of his troops and had them take some ladders with which to advance across the rooftops.

Ara

The next morning, she decided to give Sasha a visit to see how she was doing after all that time spent in that bubble. When she reached the medical area, and asked where she was staying, the nurse had a grim look on her face.

"…what's wrong?"

"The priestess, Sahsa, isn't going to make it."

"What?! Why not? What's wrong with her?"

"That's just it. Physically, nothing. However, I believe the priestesses exist solely because the El exists. With the El energy no longer in this area… I think that's what's causing her condition to decline so rapidly."

"…How long does she have?"

"I can't imagine that she'll last more than an hour in her state."

"I'll stay with her, then. Until she, you know…"

She was lead to the tent Sasha was staying in.

"Hey."

The girl looked back at her, almost analyzing her face. Looking at her for really the first time, she realized that Sasha was quite a bit younger than her.

"So you came to be with me when I die, huh?"

"W-what? What do you mean?" She let out a nervous laugh.

"Don't lie. You know it, too. I can see it on your face."

"Sasha…" She shook her head. "You're not going to die. We'll find a way to help you."

"Don't even bother with that. My staff. It contained the Water El, and the first thing they did was take it to… whoever was behind them attacking. Unless I get that staff back… well… you know."

"Don't worry, Sasha. I'm sure we'll get it back soon."

"Ara… please stop. You're giving me false hope."

"Look, I know we haven't known each other very long, but I just lost my whole world. Now you've entered my world, and I'm not ready for someone else to leave it."

"I'm so sorry, Ara, but please don't blame yourself. Look at it this way. This is my punishment for failing in my duties." She paused and looked at the top of her tent before looking back at Ara. "Thank you for being with me at the end, Ara."

"Sasha… please don't go." She grabbed the girl's hand.

"I'm sorry Ara. But thank you, and goodbye." Her arm went limp and she closed her eyes.

"No…"

A deep, rumbly voice then came from behind her. "Excuse me, but you look important. My name is Denif, the Water Master."

Eve

2 Unregistered Nasods in the local area.

This was unexpected. She found it unlikely that any Nasods could have survived the explosion of Altera.

Queen Type B: Hack

Working…

Systems hacked

Queen Type B: Find name

Working…

2 Names found

Queen Type N

Queen Type E

This wasn't the only information she got from them. She was also able to check their memory banks and see their personalities.

Queen Type B: Label 'Queen Type N' as 'Assassin'

Successfully labeled

Queen Type B: Label 'Queen Type E' as 'Queen'

Successfully labeled

Assassin appeared to be moving around the site of the El explosion, but didn't seem to make any sorts of moves towards her or her army, not did anything inside her seem to show any sort of interest in them.

Queen was a little curious. She seemed to be hiding the fact that she was a Nasod from the people she was traveling with. Why it is that she would join humans without negative intentions for them was beyond her.

She also took some entries about people they knew and added to her own. The first was someone who was no longer human, named Add. She had him classified as a potential extreme threat. She also took what he had said to Assassin. She had no interest in the ascension, but if it came down to it, she would support Queen to reach the power.

From Queen, she took an entry of a human female called "Aisha Landar." She was the descendant of the Landar that had taken down Queen during the war. She appeared to be becoming friends with her for some reason.

There were the beginning of three other entries, but she had no useful information on them. A human male called "Elsword," a human female, and an elf female, neither of which she had name entries for.

Despite how terrible Queen was at gathering information, she still decided that she would be a better candidate than either Assassin or herself. She doubted that she would ever have to make a decision, and found it more likely that the three of them would all lose the opportunity. But whoever it was that would end up with all the power, she would fight them to make her dreams come true.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Eve

Someone had hacked into her system and changed her name to "Assassin."

Assassin:Change name user=Assassin "Queen Type N" [Retain Label]

Working…

Name successfully changed, label retained

Queen Type N:Identify user=hacker

Working…

User identified as 'Queen Type B'

Queen Type N:Open memory files

Accessed

Queen Type N:Change name user='Queen Type B' Warrior

Name successfully changed

Queen Type N:Change password user=Warrior

Insert old password

Queen Type N:

Queen Type N:|

Queen Type N:

Queen Type N:Password

Invalid Password

Queen Type N:Admin

Invalid Password

Queen Type N:

Queen Type N:|

Queen Type N:Adrian

Invalid Password. You have been locked out of this account

Well, damn, she thought. At least she was able to get information on another version of her before she was kicked out. She was referred to as "Queen." She suspected that it was Type E, but she couldn't be sure.

"E-excuse me, miss, but I'm going to have to ask you to give me that box you're holding now." A little girl (though, not much shorter than herself) came up to her.

Looking around, she realized that she had walked to the edge of a forest.

"And who are you to make demands of me?"

She cleared her throat. "My name is Anduran. I'm the Wind Priestess. From Sander. The… um…"

"Don't waste my time, girl. I have urgent business to attend to. Besides, You're not the priestess. She doesn't share that name."

"That's where you're wrong, pretty little Nasod." A male voice came from somewhere. Looking around, she saw a figure in a tree. "Sorry, Anduran. I know I said I wouldn't interfere, but I knew how you were going to respond to that one."

"And who are you to speak for this girl? Her father?"

"Oh, good heavens no. I am Ventus, the Wind Master."

"The Wind Master? That seems to be correct based on my databases. How did you know I was a Nasod?"

"I just told you. I'm the Wind Master. I could hear your internal parts moving."

"Fine. But I'm going to keep the box."

"Ah, well, you see, the box contains something precious to me, and I must insist that I have it back." He jumped down from the tree, and pushed the girl aside.

"For the Wind Master, you don't treat your priestess very well."

"Well, you see, with the Wind El missing, it's only a matter of time before she dies anyway. So that makes her expendable."

"My records show that you were nicer than this. That you cared for people. Particularly women. What changed?"

"Not what _has_ changed, but what's _about_ to change. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, Miss Eve."

"Of course I do. Which is why I need the box."

"You know, I like you Eve. Tell you what. You can keep the box under one condition. If you get the power, then in addition to… whatever it is that you want, you turn yourself into a human and we can… work out the rest later."

"You're disgusting."

"And you're a murderer. Tell you what. I'll give you the Priestess to use however you want. Do we have a deal?"

"…Fine. Deal." She shook his hand.

"Very good. Now, have fun, you two." He waved as he walked into the woods.

"Now then, Priestess. Where are the other shards?"

Ain

The guardians of the seal were nothing compared to the power given to him by Henir. As a result, he was practically able to simply walk up and take the seal, releasing the behemoth. The monster then went on a rampage, exactly as he expected, killing most of the inhabitants of Sander.

The Wind Priestess, who had happened to be living in Sander with the Earth Priestess due to the unknown location of the Wind El, stood up to the Behemoth, giving time for her daughter and the other Priestess, along with a few of the town people.

"How curious. She truly believes she can stop the beast. How carelessly foolish of her. She shouldn't do that unless… wait." He went up to the fighting priestess. "Excuse me, Ms. Wind, what is it that you are trying to do?"

"What does it look like?!" She snapped at him. "I'm holding the behemoth off long enough for the others to escape!"

"But you have to know that in doing so you will be killed by it."

She snickered. "Then so be it. Artea and Anduran are counting on me to make sure they stay safe. Besides, if I die, then my role as priestess falls to my daughter. If Artea dies… Well, then that's it. Now go! Unless you want to die alongside me, that is."

"I see. So it's your love for your friends and family that drives you on this suicide mission of yours. Very well. I will leave you to die alone." He left her in search of the other shards.

He had previously thought that the Dark El Remained in Varnimyr, but he suddenly felt it's presence in Elrios. Following it, he ended up back in Elrianode once again. This time, though, there was something he hadn't noticed before. A small moondial sitting on a pillar about half his height stood where the palace once was.

"Excuse me, mister, but I'm going to have to ask you to please step away from the dial." A small girl said behind him.

He turned around to face her. "A child thinks they can tell _me_ what to do? No, wait. You're the priestess of the Dark El, Darkmoon."

"That's right. The master has important work to do, so please move away before I have to hurt you."

"You don't know who I am, do you, Ms. Dark?"

"Ainchase Ishmael. You were created by the goddess Ishmael to oversee Elsword in his mission. But you found yourself unable to complete your mission due to your constant disappearing, so you turned to the dark powers of Henir to stabilize yourself." A voice that sounded exactly like his called out from the dial.

"And how do you know this, Mr. Dark?"

"Oh, please. You needn't be so formal with me. I believe I am currently called Ebalon."

"Answer the question, Ebalon."

"Because, Ainchase Ishmael, I _am_ you."

"…what?"

"You and I. We're the same person. In fact, I can remember having this very conversation."

"But… how is that possible?"

"It's one of the many paradoxes that this world seems to thrive on."

"…Paradoxes?"

"I took the term from one of the other candidates who took it on as part of his title. You will meet him later."

"So if you're me, then I take it that means that I don't win?"

"Yes, Ainchace Ishmael. But only because you know what will happen if you win. I, on the other hand, have no such consequences. Now, as Priestess Darkmoon said, go away. I'm very busy."

"Wait!"

"Remember this conversation, Ainchase Ishmael. You may find yourself having to repeat it using a different name to someone who looks very much like yourself." He disappeared back to the moondial.

He paused a moment to contemplate what he had just been told. "You, Ms. Dark."

"U-um, yes?"

"Guard this place well. I will not fight either of you to take the Dark El, but someone else will. I'm sure you know of the changes that are going to occur to the world very soon."

"Yes, Master Ebalon told me what was happening when I became the priestess."

"Good. Someone will come for this power, and most likely they will kill the both of you to take it."

Eve

System:Hey, Eve, you might want to see this.

Queen:See what?

System:That. Your name.

Queen:What do you mean?

Queen:Wait

Queen:What's happening?

Queen:WHERE'S THE REST OF MY NAME?!

System:That's what I was getting at. I think someone hacked us.

Queen:I don't like this. Change it back.

System:Give me a moment…

System:There we go. Your name's back to normal. I couldn't remove the label behind it though.

Queen Type E:Test

Queen Type E:Okay, that's much better.

System:Should we hack back?

Queen Type E:Only if we can change their name like they did to us.

System:Too late. Someone beat us to it.

Queen Type E:DO THE PASSWORD FAST!

System:No need to shout.

…

System:We're out of range.

Queen Type E:Damn it.

Queen Type E:Reactivate sensory inputs

She had turned them off to rest while Elsword rowed them back to land. She still didn't have the names of the other people in the group. That would need to be something she prioritized.

They had already reached land. Elsword, the elf, and the other human girl had already left the boat and had set up a camp just up the hill, leaving Aisha and herself with blankets on them. She stood up, folding her blanket and quietly left to meet the others.

"I don't think we've all been properly introduced. I'm Eve. I'm… not from around here."

"I think we've all figured out that much." Elsword spoke sarcastically, and the elf punched his shoulder.

"I'm Rose. I'm… not from around here either." The human girl Introduced herself.

"Rena, trapping ranger." The elf was introduced herself quickly after.

"I'm Elsword. I… if I'd known that we were making cool nicknames for ourselves, I would've given it some thought, but I guess… Infinity Sword?" He scratched the back of his head, and Rena punched him again.

"It's not like we're making our titles up, Elsword! I worked hard to get mine!"

"Yeah, I know. You keep reminding me."

"When have I ever said that before just now?!"

"Oh, you know. Here and there." He waved his hand in the air dismissively. "Besides, I worked to earn mine, too. I can do this now!" He held his empty sheath in the air, and several swords appeared in the air.

"Oh, you can do _that_ and you never thought to tell anyone?! You never used it?!"

"Hey, it's not like an opportunity ever arose!"

"Never arose?! We fought a Nasod _several_ times as large as you, and you didn't think that that was a good enough opportunity to use a skill like that?!"

"Hey, you and Aisha seemed to have had it under control."

"So you're the ones who killed A- I mean, King Nasod?" She interjected.

"Yeah. Why? He was keeping you captive, right?" Elsword replied.

"Um… Yeah, something like that."

System:You're a terrible lair, Eve.

Queen Type E:Shut up, I know!

Just then, Aisha came up to the hill, and Elsword ran down to her.

"Aisha! Are you okay? You were sleeping pretty deeply."

She turned her back to him, huffing and folding her arms. "I'm still mad at you, you know."

"Mad at me? What for?"

"For making me waste my energy like that. It's your fault I passed out that time."

"Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I should have trusted your judgement."

Queen Type E:Wait… are they…?

System:I don't know. I've never seen anything like this.

"Um, Rena? Are they-?"

She was cut off by Rena slamming her hand over her mouth.

System:…what

"Sh. If they hear you saying that, they'll stop." She spoke un a hushed tone."

Queen Type E:What's happening?

System:What is 'that'? What does me mean by 'that'?

Queen Type E:What, _that's_ what you don't understand?

"Look, just promise me you won't be so reckless?" Elsword spoke to Aisha, now turned towards him.

"You're one to say things like that."

"Look, I just… I guess I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry, and that I care about you."

"…Since when do _you_ say things like that?"

He laughed nervously. "It's… new, I guess." He paused and stared off into the sky. "You know, I've learned a lot during this journey. About the world. About people. About myself." He turned his head to her. "About you."

"Elsword… what…?"

"I just… I can't bring myself to hate you after everything we've been through. What do you say, friends?" He extended a hand to her.

She huffed. "Jeez, Elsword. I thought it was obvious that we were friends." She took his hand. "But… I'm grateful that you said so out loud."

System:What just… happened…?

Queen Type E:Did she just… get friendzoned?

System:…'friendzoned'?

Queen Type E:Did you read _any_ of the files I sent you?

System:…I may have skimmed the first two.

Queen Type E:…you really are useless.

Rena

She can't honestly say that she was surprised by what Elsword ended the conversation with, but it was still frustrating to watch. How could someone so close fall so far on his own accord? Maybe a better question would be 'Was he really that stupid'? Yes, apparently, he was.

They quickly packed up the camp and began moving back towards Elder, seeing nowhere left to go. Having 5 people now, they decided that Aisha would take the front, Elsword and Rena would be in the middle, and Eve and Rose would be in the back.

"So Elsword. You and Aisha earlier."

"Yeah? What about it?"

"You two seem to be… getting pretty close."

"Oh, shut up, Rena. You know it isn't like that. You were listening, so you should know that we're just friends. We agreed on that!"

"Yeah, I heard. But you know, I bet if you asked her out, she would say yes."

He face drew blank as if she had pulled that out of nowhere.

"Oh, come on. You can't be that oblivious. It's clear that you two have a thing for each other."

"W-what?! N-no way! I bet you that you're the only one who thinks that!"

"Alright, you're on. I'll ask Aisha, and you ask the two in the back."

"Wait, why do you get to talk to Aisha about it?"

"To avoid you talking her out of it. I know how you are."

He grumbled something under his breath. "Fine. 10,000 ED says you're the only one who thinks that."

He fell back to talk to Eve and Rose, and she sped up to talk to Aisha about it.

"So Aisha. You and Elsword."

She made a look of disgust as she mentioned him. "Ugh, that boy. I swear, one of these days, I'm actually going to kill him!"

"Oh? Something happen?"

"Yeah, lots. All the time. He keeps leading me on, then drops the subject!"

"Just to be clear, we're still talking about the two of you as… you know."

"Yes! Only this morning before we packed up camp, he kept leading me on like he was going to ask me out, and dropped it to say that we should be friends!" She huffed. "You know, I don't think that he knows he likes me. I mean, seriously. Who could be _that_ dumb?" She took a deep breath and let it out as another sigh. "But, you know, I'm actually thankful that he didn't. I'm not really sure how I would have responded." She tilted her head down slightly, smiling with a light blush across her face. "Though, I guess _someone_ needs to take care of that idiot."

"I see. So that's how you really feel about all this."

"I'm… sorry you had to listen to that. Thank you for listening to my rant."

"You know, Elsword's not the only one who's grown during this journey. You've also grown quite a bit."

"You really think so?"

"Of course!" She glanced back. "Looks like he's done. I made a bet with your little idiot back there, and I want to see what he found."

Elsword

He fell back to talk to Eve and Rose. Surely they wouldn't see anything between him and Aisha.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I need to ask you two something."

"No problem. You're not really interrupting anything anyway. We're not talking much back here." Rose replied.

"Oh, well, I guess that's better for me, then. Anyway, this is kind of an awkward thing to ask, but you two don't think that Aisha and I… like each other, right?"

The two of them looked at each other as if they had been discossing this very thing not long ago.

"So… you're not a couple?" Eve said with a tilted head.

"What?! No! Why would you think that we're…"

Rose raised her eyebrows. "…have you figured it out yet?"

"Okay, but that's nothing more than us just being good friends!"

"It feels a little closer than 'just good friends.'"

"So you two both thought that we were a couple?"

"Yes." They said in unison.

"Wow. Thanks, I guess."

He walked forward and waited for Rena to finish what seemed to be her lively conversation with Aisha.

"You owe me 10,000 Ed." Was the first thing she said upon falling back.

"No way. Aisha too?"

"Yep. And she even knows that you haven't figured it out yet."

"No way."

"Yeah. It's also kind of stressing her out how you keep doing this, so at some point you may want to talk to her about it."

"Easy for _you_ to say! You're not the one who has to ask!"

"Yeah, well, I guess that's what happens when you lose your bets~"

Aisha

"Hey, so Aisha, I just wanted to, um…" Elsword had run up to her from behind.

"If you're going to apologize for this morning, just don't. Save yourself some time."

"Actually, I, um… I just wanted to… well you see, I…"

"Are you going anywhere with this?"

He took a deep breath. "I wanted to know if you'd go out with me."

She stopped dead in her tracks with a mix of surprise, confusion, and irritation on her face. "W-what was that?"

"Well… I just… I thought that you might want to be… you know… more than just friends."

"D-did you send Rena t-to s-see if I f-felt like th-this?!"

"What? No! She asked if I felt this way about you, and I said that you probably didn't feel this way about me, and-"

"Answer. Th-the question."

"No! That was all her idea!"

She sighed, seeing that everyone had stopped and was looking at then awkwardly. "Okay, fine. Why don't we keep moving, and we can continue this when we get to town."

Eve

Assassin had actually been able to hack her back. She'd have to admit, she didn't actually expect a response for a few days. She was more perceptive than she had initially thought. As for Queen… she didn't seem to notice. She just stayed on her path heading roughly northwest. According to Raven, there was a trading town called Elder. It was possibly, though unlikely at a 7.3% chance, that she would get a lead on another source of Diceon for Nasod production.

"I have made a decision on our first move, Raven."

"Where will our first strike be?"

"A demon infested town to the south, Feita."

"Feita is infested with demons?"

"Yes. I'm surprised you didn't know. After their first attempt failed, they launched another attack a few days later, and nothing even attempted to stop them."

"I see. But wouldn't it be easier to invade the human settlements to the west?"

"It would, but the elves are of notable concern. They have declared a war with the demon invaders to protect the humans. If we attack them, we will also have to fight the elves, which is not a desirable outcome."

"Then what should we do about them?"

"I believe we should let them tire themselves out. We fight alongside them, pretending to be giving our all, and let them do most of the fighting. When we have conquered the once human settlements, we will move to eliminate them. With luck, we can have some of our units stationed at their capital to give us an advantage for the attack."

"Then how should we go about becoming allies with the elves?"

"You just worry about attacking the demons. If I recall, you led their forces to Hamel, so you would know how to stop them. I will take care of making the elves believe we are their allies."

Raven

If she didn't want to be attacked by the elves, then they had some power he wasn't aware of. He didn't know what she knew, nor did he pretend to. Right now, his mission was to reclaim Feita from the demons, and that's exactly what he was going to do, whether or not he had help from the elves.

Elesis

She found herself drawn to the Fire Temple on the mountain above Lanox. Maybe it was because she had trained there not long ago, or maybe it was because she was drawn to the power of the Fire El supposedly kept within. But one way or another, she found herself walking down the familiar halls of the temple she had once stayed in.

She seemed to be wondering aimlessly. Her eyes were blank. Her expression seemingly nonexistent. Opening a door she had never seen before, she found herself standing above a lake of lava, ashes rising into the darkened sky above. In the center of the lake, floating above a large metal grate, she could see a thin, red sword.

"The Fire El has a unique property. It takes the shape of something the person standing in front of it is familiar with. Something that they desire."

She could almost hear Ignia's voice speak as she remembered was the priestess had told her.

"Each El shard has it's own unique properties, and that's what makes fire different from the rest. It was no definite shape."

The Fire Master's voice also rung in her ears.

"What do you see, Elesis? What do you desire?"

She had been unable to answer the question at the time. She had no idea what it was that she truly wanted most. The El hadn't appeared to her.

Despite that, it appeared to her now, and it was clear what she wanted. She wanted revenge. She wanted vengeance. She wanted to destroy the world who had taken everything from her.

The sword was that of Master Rosso, the Fire Master, who had taken her on as an apprentice. How he got the sword, she didn't know. It seemed a little small for him. But regardless of it's origins, she would use the sword as he did. She would use it's power to bring destruction to the land and everyone around her.

Chung

When he and his men arrived at the temple, the portal was already gone. To be more specific, it closed as they arrived.

"It seems, they had a similar idea to us!" One of the men said.

"Yeah, run away! Save yourselves the trouble!"

"Isn't it too convenient? Right as we decide to attack, they decide to leave?" He commented.

"Chung, are you suggesting that this is a trap? In _this_ kind of building?"

"I don't know. Head back and start moving the people. I'll follow shortly behind."

"You don't seriously think you're leaving this place alive, Chung?" A familiar voice called out to him.

"…Father?"

"Chung, you father died in the initial invasion. This isn't him!"

"No! He was only corrupted! Maybe… just maybe… I can save him!"

"You're wrong, Chung. I can't be saved. In fact, I've come here to kill you. And as soon as I do, the portal will open once more and destroy that group of survivors and finally move on with our mission."

"You guys need to go. This is my fight." He waited for them to leave. "Now, how about this. If I win, you have to give up my father's body and leave this place forever. Deal?"

"You don't seem to understand how this is going to work, kid. Either I kill you, or you kill me. If you kill me, then the demons won't attack. If I kill you, then the invasion continues. Those are the only two outcomes of this fight."

He shook his head. "No. I refuse to believe that. There has to be something…"

"Ha ha ha! Then you are more of a fool than I thought! If you truly believe that, then I'll just kill you, nice and simple."

"You're not going to touch him." A voice called out from behind him. It was Ara.

"Oh? What's this? Did the fool find a girlfriend?"

She began to walk forward confidently. "Chung. I'm going to save you the same way you saved me."

"Ara… what are you-"

"If he really once was your father, he's not anymore. He's become nothing more than a ruthless killing machine."

"Ara… hey, wait a minute!"

"I've given it some thought, Chung. The best possible outcome for me was you killing my brother. I've never been freer. I'm not doing anything for anyone other than myself. I don't have to uphold my family legacy."

"Where's this coming from?"

"I spoke with the Water Master, Denif. He made me realize that the path of grief I'm on leads nowhere. He showed me the light. Now I'm here to do the same for you. I'm sorry, Chung. This is going to hurt. A lot."

"Hey… Ara… Hey, wait…"

The man laughed. "Do you really think that you can beat me, little girl?"

"Beat you? Ha. No. I _know_ that I'm going to kill you."

"And just how are you-" She cut him off my running her spear through his armor using the dark magics that she had learned from the tome as of yet. He was dead before he hit the floor. Her spear had pierced his heart.

"No!" Chung ran to his father's corpse as his blood began falling from his blackened armor.

She didn't wait around to see what would happen next. "Now we're even," She said as she left the room.

"What do you mean, even?"

"You killed by brother, I killed your father."

"And where are you going now?"

"To launch a counter attack, of course."

"But where? They closed the only portal."

"Are you really so stupid as to believe they only opened one portal to invade a city as strong as this one?"

"That's…"

"Never trust a demon, Chung. Especially not one you were close to." She then left him alone and headed for the most defensible and central to control of the city, the royal palace.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Eve

The priestess had led her to the ruins of a city far from where she had been. "The forgotten city of Elrianode," she had called it. It didn't look like the Elrianode she had heard about, but that was before the war had occurred. According to the priestess, the El shards separated in a massive explosion that leveled the city.

They had stopped in front of a small, round building.

"Which El shard was here? I don't recall you telling me."

"Oh, um. This was the first El created by the priestess. It doesn't have much power on it's own, but it amplifies the power of other shards."

"Thank you for the clarification, Anduran. I will be back shortly."

"Um! Wait, the door is-"

System:Magic Seal detected. Direct contact is not recommended.

Queen Type N:Calculate force for spear,impact+spear,explosion=seal=broken

System:Calculating…

"Sealed with a powerful magic? I can see that. Stand back for your safety."

System:Calculated

Launching spear…

There was some resistance from the barrier before the spear found its way through, proceeding to explode the door and destroying the barrier.

"Incredible… I've never seen a force strong enough to break magic that strong…"

"Wait here. I will return shortly with the El fragment."

She walked down several sets of stairs before finding herself in a small room with a small stand in the center holding a crystal.

"Finally, you've arrived, Eve."

"Who are you? Do you intend to take the El for yourself?"

"Oh, nothing of the sort. I'm just here to make sure history happens as it's supposed to."

"As it's supposed to? Do you mean that you're a time traveler?"

"Of sorts."

"Now answer my first question. Who are you?"

"Have I not introduced myself? How rude of me. I am Ebalon. The Moon Master."

"So you're protecting the El, then?"

"Only until the right person comes along to take it. And now that you're here, I can call my job done."

"…what do you mean?"

He sighed. "In order for 'me' to exist, you need to collect the El Shards."

"And just why does me having the shards have anything to do with you existing? Just who are you?"

"Why, 'I'm' the remains from a reset of time. When time flows backwards, pieces of those involved are left behind. 'I' am one such fragment. As are all of the Masters. Well, most, anyway."

"There is an inconsistency. Ventus attempted to take the Wind shard from me. Why would he do so when it could erase his own existence?"

"Because Ventus doesn't have his memory from his first time through. He believes that he is an Original."

"You mean he believes he was born into that form?"

"Precisely. Now, I'm sure that your follower above is getting anxious. You'll soon find out why." He presented a small moondail. "I think you'll find this helpful as well."

"Thank you, Ebalon." She turned around and left the building to find a girl with purple hair in front of Anduran, almost yelling.

"How could you just let someone like that in there?! Your sole job is to protect the El!"

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but I-"

"I don't care about your excuses!"

"I'm sorry, but why are you yelling at her like that?" Eve stood behind Anduran. "Did she not tell you that Ventus sent us to collect the El shards?"

"Vantus…? Fine, but I don't believe you! Where's your proof?"

"The proof, dear Darkmoon, it that I have seconded the mission." Ebalon walked out of the building as well. "You shall accompany this… monster, as you call her, to collect the shards."

"Master Ebalon… are you really okay with this? The shards were kept apart for a reason, right?"

"For the reason of allowing my mission to be completed along with the timeline. You never were good at paying attention to the details."

"So does that mean…?"

"Yes. My time is now done. Congratulations, Darkmoon. This makes you the Dark Master." He faded away.

"Goodbye, Master Ebalon." She turned back to her. "Now that he's gone, I'm going to have to ask you to give me back the moondail.

She paused. "Excuse me?"

"Giving you the moondail was Master Ebalon's will. But he's not the Master anymore. I am. My will to for you to give it back."

"I'm afraid you will find yourself unable to carry that out will of yours."

"Then I guess I'll just have to kill you!"

"No, wait!" Anduran put her arms out in defense of her. "Ms. Eve has been so kind to me. I know she's only using me to help with her plans, but even so, she's treated me with more kindness in the short while I've known her than Ventus was the entire time I've known him! Ms. Eve is… well… my mother was always out searching for the Wind El, and Ms. Gaia was always protecting the seal so… she's the closest thing I've had to family. Please Darkmoon… I don't want to go back to Ventus!"

Darkmoon had a dark look on her face. "I'm sorry, but if that's the case, then I'll just have to kill you, too."

Eve stepped in front of Anduran. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Darkmoon. Because you have just threatened someone I cannot afford to lose. That mistake will cost you your life."

"I'm not so sure of that. I may not have the same kind of powers as Ebalon had, but I think I can still take you down!"

"Really? You think you can take down someone with 3 El Shards?"

"I do, actually. Because it's you."

"Anduran, run. As fast as you can. Don't look back, and don't stop until you get somewhere safe."

"What? But what about you? How will you find me?"

"You know what I am, and how I'll find you. Now go. I'll deal with this."

Anduran began running from the two of them.

"Oh, no you don't!" Darkmoon lunged at her, only to be blocked be Eve's spear.

"Your enemy is me. Do not attempt to fight her."

"What? How did you get here so fast?"

"You forget I have the wind El, alongside the Primal El. You cannot outrun me."

"Fine. But even if you have the El, I'll still make you pay for what you did to my mother during the war!"

"Your mother? Who was your mother?"

"She was your best friend!" Tears began to well up in her eyes. "Then you murdered her!"

"Best friend…?"

Queen Type N:Search records,all for decription=BestFriend,definition

Searching…

"You don't even remember, do you, you monster?"

1 result found.

"I see now. You're Landar's daughter."

"That's right! And after all these years, I will finally take vengeance!"

"I'm afraid things were not quite as you believe them to be. I fought her, true, but I was not the one to kill her."

"Then who was?!"

"She had set up a trap. Lose miserably, and use my expectation of winning to defeat me. But she could not bring herself to kill the one she called her 'best friend,' nor would she be killed by that person."

"What… what are you saying?"

"I'm saying to resolve the conflict, she sacrificed herself. It nearly brought an end to the long and bloody war."

"I don't believe you."

"Nor do I expect you to."

"Then you know that I'm still going to kill you?"

"I know that you are going to try."

Elesis

She had found her way to some portal that took her to a strange place filled with bizarre creatures she had never seen before. New sounds could be heard, and new smells could be smelled. The sky was clear, save for the trees that lines everywhere around her. It was completely different from the ashy plains of Lanox she had just left. There was life everywhere, seemingly untouched by the disasters that had completely ravaged the world.

"I don't think I've seen you around here before." A strange, friendly, and almost robotic voice called to her from behind. "Are you new here?"

"Why does it matter?"

"I'm supposed to register anything that comes through this portal. Are you new here?"

"Probably. Where is 'here?'"

He tilted his head in confusion. "Well, you're on Atlas Station, of course! Where else would you be?"

She paused. "I was just in Lanox."

"Ah, I see. So you came in through the portal at Lanox, then?"

"Something like that."

"Well, then. Welcome to Atlas!"

"Can I go now?"

"Oh, of course! But if you have nothing to do, or if you happen to be heading in that direction, I have a request."

"And that is?"

"If you're heading to Atlas City, I need to check out some rumors of unrest due to some unusual circumstances."

"…City?"

"Yep! It's an entire city full of Nasods!"

"I see. I suppose I could tag alone for a bit, then."

The two made their way through the jungle fairly quickly, avoiding anything that may have caused a problem, and approached the city by nightfall, the familiar red glow of fire burning as several pillars of ash rose from within the city walls.

"Woah. I guess we're too late then." The boyish-looking Nasod spoke.

"I assume there was something wrong with those on top. Or perhaps it was those on the bottom. You can never be too sure."

"I mean, I knew that they had had some complaints about Elysion, but I never expected something like this."

"Elysion? What's that, the ruler or something?"

"It's another place, similar to this, but higher up. It's where the person who created us, Adrian, lives."

"Adrian? The one who created the first Nasods?"

"Wait, you know him?"

"No, but I've heard of him. He died. Long ago. He has an old man."

"He hasn't been around for that long, has he? Only about, what, 300 years?"

"That's about three times the length of a human life time. Trust me, he's dead."

"I'm telling you, he's not! He was awake just last week!"

"…awake?"

"He spends most of his time sleeping in the cryo tubes, but he occasionally wakes up to do a specific task of some sort."

"So he uses ice to extend his life…"

"…what?"

"Nothing. We should move into the city."

Eve

On her approach to the Elven territory, she was found by several scouts and escorted to the central base of the rangers, around and partially within the great tree Eldrasil.

"So my scouts tell me that you're called Eve, correct?"

System:Running voice analysis…

Analysis complete.

"You know well who I am, general. Let us skip this idle chatter."

"Very well, Eve. First of all, how are you here? I remember seeing you dead."

"Correction: Powered down. My body was not so damaged as to prevent my systems from repairing itself. I required myself to be powered down for the process to begin."

"I see. So that's how you survived. Even though I shot an arrow through your core."

"I still find myself unable to calculate how you managed such a feat, but regardless, it worked. Your next question?"

"What are you doing here? Surely you didn't just come here to settle an old dispute?"

"I came here unaware that you were even still alive. I came to propose an alliance against the demons to the east. In fact, I have a relatively small force heading down to Feita to clean up the mess that you have caused trying to be rid of them."

He paused. "What changed in your algorithm that caused you to seek the help of someone not related to the construction of Nasods?"

"Your knowledge about their combat, along with your usage of non logical tactics. You have been fighting them longer than I have, resulting in you being more familiar with their strategies."

"And why is it that you can't go in and find them out for yourself?"

"I have a limited source of Diceon with which to power my Nasods."

"That's never stopped you before, but I assume this is your way of saying that you don't have enough for a full army."

"Incorrect. The demons are a threat to the existence of us both. Sure, we have been enemies in the past, but perhaps we can become allies, if only for a short time, to clear this threat."

He thought for a moment. "Let me be honest with you, Eve. I don't trust you. I know that you undoubtedly have something up your sleeve that you're preparing. But right now, you're right. We need to focus on defeating the demons invading our world."

"So you will take my offer, then?"

"Make no mistake. I will only accept on the condition that you, and anyone else giving orders, does so from here. I know that you, unlike us, are capable of doing that."

"I assume you mean that we will be under constant watch?"

"Of course. And if we see any signed that you might betray us, we will put you down without any hesitation."

"Understood. I will call my generals, then."

Calling generals…

Ignis connected

Leviathan connected

Crow Rider connected

Raven

He had arrived in the demon filled Feita Village, establishing a small camp just to the north. A short while ago, he had sent scouts both in and around the town to see where the demons were positioned along with the location of the elven camp that would undoubtedly be there.

The report from the scouts in the town came in first. The demons were moving towards a group of elves surrounded around the center. Thinking quickly, he decided to take a small group of Nasods to clear a path for the elves to escape. He had the console newly installed in his arm run an algorithm to select about ten percent of the units before heading off with them to rescue the elves that were probably sent to die, possibly as a diversion.

"S-stand back! You may have us surrounded, but we could easily take all of you!" A strong, female voice attempted to bluff from somewhere within the mob of demons.

He shook his head at how bad she was at bluffing, and gave the order for the Nasods to begin attacking the demons. There was an initial roar from the attacked demons, and the ones in the center began moving in before the elves fired their bows in retaliation.

Raven quickly cut his way to the center of the circle in the chaos. "Quickly, this way!"

"You! Y-you're not an elf!" The same voice he'd heard earlier replied.

"No, I'm not, but if you want to live, you'll have to trust me!"

She hesitated before responding. "Everyone, this way! We're getting out of here!"

He repositioned some of his units to support the open passage way, allowing the elves to escape.

"Go! Get them out of here!" The same elf called out to him, still in the center.

"I'm not leaving a single one of you here. That means you, too!"

"No, just go! There are too many of them! I'll hold their attention while you get the others out of here! After all, the job of a leader is to protect her teammates."

"And just how are you going to protect them if you're dead?!" He picked her up by the waist with his human arm. "Now let's go!"

"Hey, let me down, or I'll kill you if we even get out of this alive!" She started thrashing her limbs around. Like a child, Raven thought. "I swear! You're going to get us all kil- w-wait. Are those… Nasods?!"

"Yeah?! What of it?"

"Now we're really going to die for sure!"

"Would you cut the dying crap?! I was sent with them for the sole purpose of rescuing you elves that were being beaten to a pulp!"

"And just who would send someone with an army of extinct Nasods?!"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe their queen?!"

"The queen died long ago in the war! The general himself told me that he killed her!"

"Well, apparently, he didn't finish the job because she's still very much alive! She's the reason I'm still alive! Now would you stop kicking me?! I'm trying to save your life!"

"Maybe if you put me down, I'll stop beating you!"

"Maybe if you _keep_ beating me, I'll sacrifice you to the demons myself!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"I've been through a lot, woman! Just try me!"

She seemed to back down to this, and stopped flailing. She sighed. "Fine, but could you at least put me down? I don't need some guy to carry me around like this."

"I'm sure you don't but you seem a bit tired right now. Must have been all that thrashing."

"Well if you had just put me down, I wouldn't have thrashed."

"Right. Because you would be too busy being dead having had sacrificed yourself."

"You don't know that!"

"I don't have to. You blatantly told me your plan."

"I… I guess I did. So… when do you plan on putting me down?"

"When we get back to our camp. Don't want to risk the demons encircling us like they did you guys."

Ara

With her newfound powers, defeating the demons guarding and in the palace was an easy task. As such, she was able to quickly make her way up the central tower of the palace, and reach the portal to the demon world.

"You're one stubborn bitch, you know?" An eerie voice called out from somewhere in the room. "I've been throwing one thing after another at you to try and stop you from coming here. Corrupting your brother. Making Chung go to kill you. Making sure the priestess died before Denif arrived. You have no idea just how hard it is to get rid of you, do you?"

"What did you just say? Who are you?! Show yourself!"

"Aw, you really can't see me? But I've been with you all along, Ara Haan. Or, perhaps I shouldn't call you that anymore. After all, you gave up that title when you began reading that book."

"Answer the question! Who are you?!"

A figure with striking white hair, a mask that covered one of his glowing yellow eyes, and chains attached to his robe materialized before her. "I think you know the answer to that question."

"Glave… What are you doing here?!"

"What does it look like? I'm stopping you from entering the demon world."

"You think you can kill me?"

"Oh, I could do _so_ much worse than kill you. But I won't. Because I need you to carry on a message."

"What makes you think I'll just back down and do that?"

A blue and black aura glowed around his hand as he raised it up, and she felt an immense pressure begin to crush her body and lift her off the ground. "Because you don't have a choice. Now, tell the masters that the world will be reborn in darkness. The power of Henir will win this time."

"I… I will… never… help… someone like… you!"

"Then perhaps I should just kill you after all!" The aura appeared again as he fired a massive beam of the same color scheme towards her.

She was sure that that was the end until a figure rose from below, raising a stone pillar that split the beam into two fragments that narrowly missed her. "Not yet, Glave." She then grabbed Ara and descended back down, setting her down outside the palace. "Are you all right, Ara?"

"Well… yes, but… who are you?"

"I am Gaia, the master of the Earth El."

"L-lady Gaia!"

"I'm sorry that I could not arrive sooner. I had some… errands to attend to. It seems my priestess has died."

"Oh. I'm… I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Indeed. Though, there's no pointing on focusing on what can't be changed. Instead, there are some things I need to tell you about what's to come."

"What's to come? As in the future?"

"Yes. Things that will guide you down the right path."

"…the right path? But how do you know it'll work?"

"Because I remember using the advice I was given. I followed that advice and the world turned out fine."

"You remember… but that would mean…"

"Yes. I _am_ you, Ara."

Chung

A voice sounded from outside the room. "So Sir Helputt's dead. Then this really is the beginning of the end."

"Who's there?" He looked around to see a short figure with blue hair standing at the entrance.

"My name is Denif, the Water Master. I knew your father well, Chung."

"I guess you would, him being the guardian of the Water Temple."

"You're right, but I knew him better than you think I did."

"What do you mean?"

He paused and thought for a moment. "I suppose the signs are all here. Ebalon disappearing, the priestesses being killed, Glave becoming active. I think it's time for you to know."

"Know what? What are you hiding from me?"

"Chung, this doesn't end well for you. But it leads the world to a brighter future."

"What do you mean? Can you see the future as well?"

"It's more like I remember it."

"So you've traveled through time."

"In a way. But I'm not… complete. I'm missing most of my existence. Of _your_ existence."

"So wait. I travel to the past and become a dragon?"

"Not quite. Think of it like this. I'm not you. Not entirely. But I'm proof that, right now, there is still good left in you."

"The good in me travels back? Wouldn't that make me evil?"

"Let me rephrase that. You as you are now travels back, but you can change. You become a force for good."

"What… what do you mean?"

"I'm sorry. That's all I have time for."

"What do you mean, that's all there's time for? Is something coming?"

"I'm a fragment. I shouldn't really exist. I was on a timer from the start. That time is up. Goodbye. And thank you, Chung. It was nice to see myself as I used to be before I went." He then vanished, and a few balls of blue light were left before disappearing as well.

"I see. So that's how I go. Then I guess I'll have to make the most of things before I do, then."

Elsword

It may have been a long time since he had left Elder, but there was less color than he remembered. The streets were less crowded, and the sounds of idle chatter between people was almost nonexistent. The town was bleak.

Aisha was the first to break the silence. "Without the El, life can't exist."

"Your would… it truly depends on the El, doesn't it?" Rose commented.

"More than you can believe. Nearly everything in our world exists because of the El. I knew that, but… still. I never imagined the world without it would be so… dead." Elsword spoke up.

"I've seen destruction many times before but this… This is something else." Even Eve was effected by the sight.

"I don't know about you guys, but there are some people I want to see, if they're still here. Why don't you two take Rose and Eve to the place we stayed at last time, and I'll meet you there?" Elsword started off.

"Sure, but why do we have to do the boring stuff?" Aisha called after him.

He was too far out to hear her. Exploring what was left on his way, the place was more empty than he had initially thought. Many of the shops he had visited when passing through initially looked as if they had been abandoned for years. Nearly all the food places had shut down, and so had most of the clothing stores.

"Elsword?" A vaguely familiar voice called out to him.

"Huh? That voice… you're the guy who made my armor!"

"So, you remembered me, after all. I guess you _are_ still wearing what I made you, all that time ago."

"It's good stuff. Thank you, by the way."

"Think nothing of it. Though, I suppose I could make the rest of it, if you'd like."

"Are you sure? Business doesn't exactly appear to be booming."

"Of course! You caught me at a good time to. Was just about to let this old forge die and make the journey."

"The journey?"

"Where do you think all the people went? The land started dying, so the people left. Some even came back, telling us how dangerous the way to Hamel was. So we started calling it 'The Journey'."

"Yeah, I could see that. But from what I've heard, Hamel is similar to what's happening here. I haven't exactly been, but that's what people are saying."

"So it's even reached Hamel…"

"Will you still go?"

"Of course. Right now, anywhere's better than this… ashland.

"I suppose… there's something to that."

"But, of course, I won't be leaving until I finish that armor of yours!"

"Thanks, I guess. I'll… come by to pick it up later?"

"Sure. If I've already left, I'll leave it next to the forge."

"Noted." He continued walking down the road, and he found a shop that had an open sign in the window. It looked familiar on the outside, but he didn't recognize any of the outfits on the interior.

"Oh! You're the boy who bought that dress!"

"So then this is… that shop…"

"How is she, by the way? The girl you bought the dress for. What was her name? maybe… Ash?"

"Aisha. And she's doing fine."

"That's good to hear."

"Can I ask you a question? Why did you choose to stay here?"

"Because of you. The old man and I were sure you'd come back someday. And would you look at that. Here you are."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"If your friend would want another dress, I'm sure I can find the fabric somewhere to make another one. As you can see, I don't exactly have a lot of stock anymore."

"I'll definitely forward that to them, and will send them your way. Thanks for your offer."

She let out a soft giggle. "You say that like you're turning me down."

"Did I? I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"It's alright. I'm just glad that I didn't stay here for nothing."

Rena

After what seemed to be a few hours (it was hard to tell, as clouds covered the sky), Elsword came back to the hotel.

"So if you'd like, the seamstress that made Aisha's dress is still in town and offered to make you all new outfits."

"A time like this, and you offer us to get new clothing?" Rose commented.

"Well, to be honest, I haven't really worn another outfit since I was given this one. I could use something new." Rena replied.

"I have a couple of stains in my dress, as well. Not to mention that the oil never really washed out." Aisha supported the idea.

"Come to think of it, I've been wearing the same outfit since I've been trapped. I could go for something different." Eve also agreed.

"…you guys can't be serious." Rose just looked at the others, who looked back. "You're serious."

"Well, Even if we do a lot of combat, it's nice to have a different set of clothes to fight in." Rena pointed out.

Rose sighed. "Fine. I guess I'll go with you. I don't see a problem with it, but if everyone else is, then I guess I'll do it too."

"That's the spirit! …I guess." Rena placed a hand on her shoulder, then turned back to the others. "Let's go get some new clothes, then!"

They all chatted amongst themselves as the found their way to the store Elsword had described.

"Is this the place? It seems kind of…" Aisha started.

"Hey, Elsword said the owner was willing to make us new outfits, so let's just be thankful that we won't have to pay for them, okay?" Rena replied, and they all entered in the shop, and the seamstress stood up immediately after looking at them.

"Good lord! Ash, what did you do to my outfit?!"

The three of them looked around before Rena elbowed Aisha.

"Oh! Um! I was kind of… sprayed with oil after walking through a bunch of rubble…"

"Oh, no no no no no no no! This simply won't do! Come with me to the back, Ash. I'll get something started for you right away!" She ran over, pulling her arm. "Now, what are you looking for?"

"Oh, um… I guess… something kind of cute? Maybe something that flows?"

"Got someone you're trying to impress, Aisha?" Rena teased.

"Will you give it a rest?! I told you it's not like that!" She snapped back.

She let out a little laugh. "Okay, okay. If you say so."

"So, what brought you to a place that would so clearly ruin the outfit I spent time on making specifically for you?" The seamstress asked with a polite voice while holding up a tape measure up to her and writing things down on a scrap of paper.

"Oh, well I-"

"STOP MOVING!"

She immediately froze, and Rena spoke for her. "We were investigating an old, destroyed town, and came across a massive, aggressive Nasod."

"Hmm… Yes, I suppose that would do it. But why did you have to get near it, is my question? Can't you use magic?"

"Well, yes but I-"

"I SAID STOP MOVING! Let's change the subject. What about the rest of you? What are you guys looking for?"

"I guess something regal? But it still has to be efficient to move in." Eve was the first to speak up.

"Hmm… Yes, I think I could see that."

"I guess I'd like an outfit that hides my identity a little more." Rose spoke without putting much thought to it.

"Why? Are you a secret agent from another world, or something?"

All four of them held their breath, going wide-eyed before Rose began glaring at her.

"I'm joking, dear, I'm joking. I think I can manage that. What about you, was it… Rena?"

"Oh, this is a uniform actually, so… I guess something casual when you finish with the other outfits. I can't really change my combat outfit."

"Hmm… There are things I'd like to do based off what you're wearing now, but… if you insist."

The door suddenly slammed open. "Ms. Rena! Ms. Rena! They're gone! All of them!"

"Hey, now. Calm down. Take a deep breath. There you go. Now, why don't you try that again?"

"The rangers. All of them. They're dead."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Finale – Where Were You When It All Ended?

Rena

"…dead?! What do you mean they're all dead?! How can that be?!" She snapped at the messenger.

"I… I don't know all the details, but when I got back to the forest, the whole thing was lit ablaze, the golden color of the fire and the black of the smoke clouding out everything else. Instinctively, I ran to the tree, where I found the general lying on the ground, nearly dead. He… he asked me to give you this." He handed her a set of neatly folded clothes with a message written on it on top.

"This is…" she opened the letter and a frown came across her face.

"What's it say?" Aisha questioned.

"It's a promotion. As the last elf, I'm…" tears welled up in her eyes and began to fall down her cheek. "I'm being promoted to the rank of Erendil, named after the power of Eldrasil."

"But isn't that messenger also an elf?" Rose pointed out.

She shook her head. "Most of our messengers are humans who were abandoned at birth."

"What about the other agents sent out? Surely some of them are still out." Rose commented.

"They were all called beck to fight against the demons, and all the ones they sent out to Feita have been killed. That makes me the last elf."

"I'm… I'm sorry, Rena. I can't imagine the kind of weight you have to carry now." Rose walked over to her to comfort her.

"I can." Aisha said. The others looked at her surprised. "I'm the last member of the Landar family, which means that I'm expected to hold onto the family legacy. If I don't meet expectations, then our family's name might become lost to history. I imagine it's the same for you, Rena."

"I guess… now would probably be the best time to tell you all, and Aisha, you already know." Eve hesitated before talking. "I'm… I'm a Nasod."

She exchanged glances with the other two. "Eve… we already know."

"W-what?" She had a surprised look on her face.

"Well, I don't know about the others, but I figured it out when I slapped my hand over your mouth that one time." Rena recalled.

Eve then looked over to Rose. "You never ate and avoided water at all costs."

She looked down. "I guess… I _am_ just a Nasod after all…"

"Hey, none of us thought any different about you when we figured it out. You had your reasons for hiding it, and we respected that. Besides, I'm willing to bet that you only came out because you were going to try and comfort me with the fact that you're the last one, right?" Rena went up to her.

"How did you…"

"Nasods really only existed on Altera, and when the island was destroyed, well…"

"Oh, right. Well, in any case, I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks, Eve. All of you. I appreciate you trying to help me get through this."

"You know, it's almost fitting that something like this happens today." Rose spoke out.

"What do you mean? What's so special about today?"

"Haven't you been looking up? Today's the day of the solar eclipse."

Rose

"There's going to be a solar eclipse today? Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Aisha called out.

"Well, I didn't really think it would be a big deal. I mean, all it is is a blocking of the sun by the moon, right?"

"Well, yes, but at least here, the power of the El becomes stronger. The sun and moon are both extremely powerful sources of El energy, so during an eclipse, that power is greatly enhanced, which is why it's a major event here."

"I… see. I didn't realize, else I would have told you all earlier. Is there… anything we can do during the eclipse?"

"Well," Rena started, "it depends on how long we have before it starts."

She looked out the window. "Looks like we have about an hour."

"Hm… I don't know that we could get anywhere of importance before it would start and pass. If we had known it was coming sooner, we might have been able to have planned to be somewhere we could make use of it."

"I'm sorry. I really didn't think much of it…"

"It's okay, Rose. We can't fault you for not knowing about a place you're not from." Aisha walked over to her.

"But it is! I should have learned more about your culture before I came here!"

"We've all made mistakes, Rose. We've all not had the information we needed to make the right choice. I'm proof of that." Eve spoke up.

"Besides, it's not like we had planned to do anything, so it's not really going to change what we do." Aisha pointed out.

"You guys…" Rose tilted her head down.

Rena then walked over to her and tilted her head back up with her index finger. "Cheer up, Rose! You still have us as friends!"

Tears began to well up in her eyes as she took Rena in an embrace. "Friends… I still have… friends!"

Elsword

The girls had been gone for quite a while, so he decided to go back to the smith to see how his armor was going.

On the way, he began to really see how many had taken the journey. Nearly every place he had gone to before was closed, and he only saw a handful of people walking through the streets at all, none of which he recognized. He could almost see the ghosts of the people who once lived there. The packed streets that were difficult to navigate, the loud calls of street vendors trying to attract customers. It was unsettling to see those same places abandoned, with only light coatings of dust to be seen.

It was at that thought that he came across the forge with similar conditions, but the dust had yet to settle. It was odd, seeing a forge that had only recently been alive with the roaring fires required to work metal dark, and cold. As the smith said he would, the armor was placed next to the forge.

Picking it up, he then looked up at the sky, which began to darken as the moon approached the sun.

"I guess it's about that time. We're in the end game now."

Raven

They had made it back to the camp without much resistance, and the elves had all sat or lied down, exhausted from the day's happenings. That captain came up and sat down next to him.

"Hey, as much as this hurts my pride, I… wanted to thank you. For saving us, I mean. N-not… me specifically! I mean… ah…"

"You know, you don't have to hide the fact that you're grateful." He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a look of understanding.

"W-well, it's n-not like I like being saved by a hot guy like you! I mean, good-looking! I mean…"

"In shape?"

"Y-yeah, that."

"Well if it helps, you could think of it as I was just passing by and helped people in need."

"Look, I just… as the captain, I can't afford any… distractions… on the battle field. I'm sure you understand."

"Perfectly. In any case, does this captain have a name? Other than captain, that is."

"…Rena. B-but not the talented one! We just… happen to have the same name, is all… Everyone usually calls me Ren because of that."

"Talented one?"

"Yeah. She came in and cleared all the training in only a couple days, immediately getting sent out for field work. It was really irritating for those of us who had to work hard to clear that same training, and then were put on a wait list to go and do field work."

"I see. Well, I don't know this… other person, so to me, that makes you Rena."

She let out a light sigh. "You can call me Ren. Really, you don't just have to be nice to me."

"And what if I prefer Rena?"

She giggled softly. "Well, if you're going to be stubborn about it. By the way, I never caught your name."

"I'm Raven."

She looked over to his Nasod arm. "If you don't mind my asking, Raven, how did you get that arm?"

He looked down. "I was betrayed by my best friend, and left for dead. When I next awoke, I had this arm. Didn't know how, why, or even who I was. I… I've done horrible things with it. That's why I'm here. To set things straight. To make them right."

"Oh. I … I hadn't realized." She paused for a moment. "I can't imagine the pain it's caused you."

"It's alright, Rena. There's no way you could have known."

"I… I can't really say anything to relate. I've had a pretty good life so far. Nothing ever really challenged me, until training. I'm even living the dream I've had since I was a child!"

"Having a life like that… I can't even imagine it." He looked over to her. "You should keep living out this dream of yours, no matter what. You're lucky to have a life like this."

"Thanks. And I will. I-" She stopped when she noticed the area around growing darker, then looked up at the sky. "What? An eclipse?! I thought… it wasn't supposed to happen for another couple years?!"

"This doesn't seem right. It's almost… too random."

"I probably shouldn't say this but… I'm scared."

"Don't be. I'll protect you."

Ara

"Hurry and close the gate! If we don't get it done in time, then we're just as dead as the rest of them!"

"Sir, we have a bigger problem at the moment!"

"What?! What could be bigger than the eclipse?!"

"That girl you warned us about-she's worse! She's a monster! If we don't get this gate closed, we might not live to see the eclipse!"

"But the others! We're waiting for the others!"

"They're dead! Close it now!"

"What's this? Debating about what to do about someone? Now who might that be?" She had appeared to have disrupted their conversation.

"Y-you!"

"Me."

"Kill her! Do it now!"

"I don't think so!" She swung her spear with force enough to cut through the ones standing around her, including the one who seemed to be their leader. She didn't hesitate for a moment to jump from one demon to another, stabbing and cutting her way through all the demons in the room until only one remained.

"You. Go back and tell whoever's in charge that I'm not letting this gate close just yet. I have some business to attend to, first."

"And what makes you think that I'll do that?"

"Because if you don't, I'll hunt down every last person you know and make them suffer in your name before finally killing them. Even as a demon, is that really something you want on your conscience?"

Without another word, the demon ran off through the other part of the portal, sending him in full to the demon world.

She had told Master Gaia of Glave's message, to which she simply shrugged it off, though she did say that she would forward it to the other Masters as well. She then disappeared, telling her to ensure that the portal stayed open.

There was only one thing that bothered her about the whole ordeal. Gaia had told Glave 'Not yet.' That implied to her that at some point, he would be able to kill her. What exactly did she mean, and why did she step in? She had a feeling that she would soon find out, as from outside the portal, she could see the moon begin to eclipse the sun, and darkness filled everything.

Ain

He had received a summon from Henir to return to Elrianode, and found Glave waiting near the center where the moondail had once been.

"Pretty convincing, eh? After being around Henir for longer than imaginable, you get pretty good at replicating summons."

"What do you want, Glave?"

"What, no 'how were you able to do that' or 'I can imagine as far back as time goes'?"

"I'm very busy, Glave. Get to the point."

"Hmm… This is a first. But very well. I need the fragments of the El shard you have."

"…what?"

"You know what I mean. Now, hand them over."

"I can't do that. If I wish to see my dreams come true, then I must collect the shards."

"But you won't. And you can't. Collecting the shards is someone else's destiny. Your trial doesn't begin until the eclipse."

"Eclipse? You mean the one in a few years?"

"No. I mean the one today."

"There is no eclipse today. I would know that better than anyone."

"How wrong you are. You need only look into the sky to see how close the moon is to eclipsing the sun."

"I'm telling you, there is no-" he looked up. "…Great Elria…"

"Now do you believe me? Hand over the fragments. If you do so willingly, I can personally guarantee that you will have the chance to make your dreams come true in the near future."

He hesitated. "Very well. I do not trust you, but I can see when I am outmatched. You clearly have more information than I do, and therefore will defeat me in any sort of combat we face in."

"Thank you for your cooperation this time, Ain. We may meet again."

As he vanished, Ain couldn't help but be left with a question. What did he mean by 'this time'?

Eve

The combined power of the El she had collected thus far was enough for her to reach Elysion, a paradise far above the rest of the land. At least, that was what Anduran had told her.

"You are certain there is another El shard here?"

"Well… yes, but… I don't know where 'here' is. My mother never showed me any part of Elysion that looked like this. But I know it's here. I can feel its energy."

"Very well. See if you can pinpoint its location. I will search around and see what I can find."

"O-okay, I'll do my best!"

After a few hours, Anduran found her way back to Eve.

"I think I found it, but there's a problem."

"Oh? And what might that be?"

"It's sealed in some large ball, and I can't get it open."

"Show me."

She took her to a mostly empty, large room, containing only a few platforms and a large ball in the center as the girl had described.

"Impressive. Whichever El shard this is must be absolutely massive."

"Well… I _did_ hear that the Light El never found its way into a relic."

"Is that so? Well, then we will just have to find something to contain it. Now." She closed her eyes and focused. "You will _open_ for me!"

The device then slowly opened with a large, mechanical sound as it slowly revealed not an El fragment, but rather a large collection of Diceon.

"Anduran…"

"I-I'm sorry! I-I really thought it was! Th-the energy felt just as strong, and I didn't know that anything else could have the same kind of energy so I just… Please, don't kill me!"

She sighed, then turned her head away. "It is… alright, Anduran. You… only made a mistake. It is nothing worth killing over."

"…Ms. Eve? Are you okay?"

"I am fine, why do you ask?"

"You're… being nicer than usual. I just… wanted to make sure you're not being affected by the El or… whatever this is."

"I… see. I do not understand it myself. It seems as if… I do not want to part ways with you."

"Well… If I had to guess… I'd say that it's because you're starting to like me."

"Like you… yes, I suppose that would be a logical explanation."

"Then, I guess I'll have to make my vegetable stew for you sometime!"

"…Anduran… I cannot eat, but I appreciate the gesture. Though, perhaps someday, that will change."

A voice called out from behind them. "Excuse me, but who are you, and how did you get here?!"

She quickly turned around to see a man with black hair wearing red and black clothing.

"That jewel in your forehead… and that outfit… I suppose that makes you the Assassin, then?"

A surprised look took her face. "How did you know that?! Only myself and Warrior know of that!"

"Hernia… She remembers."

"Remembers? From when, exactly?"

"Well… the easiest way to put it would be the future, from this point."

"The future? Who are you to make that claim?"

"I am Solace, Master of the Sun. I retained some memories from my… past… life as well. In any case, I suspect you'll leave once you have these." He pulled a pair of necklaces out from his coat. "These are the Twin Necklaces, the vessels of the Light El."

"What?" Anduran looked confused.

"You are right about one thing," Eve continued, "if you give me those necklaces, I will leave this place."

"Good." He handed them over to her. "I _will_ tell you one thing about these necklaces, however. Using one, you can locate the other. If it's the same two people, then they can gain back memories that they've lost might come back."

"I doubt that will be useful, but I will store that information in case a use ever arises. Come, Anduran. We have three more vessels to locate, and I have a feeling I know where they will be."

Solace then teleported them out to a location in front of a large set of doors.

"Well, well. Took you long enough." A man she didn't recognize leaned against a wall next to the gates.

"And you are?"

"The administer of Henir's Time and Space. Search your databanks. I'm sure you'll find me."

"…" She began to look through the databanks she had. "You could have just said Glave."

"And you could have figured it out if you didn't search your databanks."

"Why are you here?" She put on an aggressive face.

"Oh, there's no need for that. I came to help you complete your task."

"…and what do you mean by that?"

Several shards began spinning around him as he pulled out a staff and a disc. "By bringing you most of what you need. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to get them all in time. After all, you only have a few minutes left."

"You know about the early eclipse?"

"Of course I do. I know everything Henir knows. In any case, you should take these before you waste all of your time. Now, the Fire El will meet you at a place called the Celestial Crossroads."

"Why there?"

"Because that place is a crossroad for more than just the stars."

"…what do you mean?"

"You will know when you get there. Oh, and you may want to hurry. Little Anduran is having trouble breathing this high up."

"Anduran!" She ran over to the girl, who was visibly dizzy. "Anduran, are you okay?"

"It's… a little… hard to… breathe…"

"Hold on! I'll get you down quickly!"

She picked up the barely conscious girl and began swiftly moving down the platform and moving downwards whenever possible, paying more attention to how far down she was than if the path she was taking lead to the Crossroads. She eventually reached the lowest point she could find, that being a platform with a large tube descending farther than her eyes could see.

"Hey, Anduran. The air's thick enough down here. You should be fine now."

She slowly opened up her eyes. "Ms. Eve. I think… you might like me more than just as a companion or even a friend."

"Anduran…" She began hugging her. "I promise, when this all over, we'll enjoy some of your stew together, okay?"

She let out a soft giggle. "It's a promise, Ms. Eve. Now go get that last shard. The eclipse is starting."

She smiled softly and set down the girl before heading to the doors, waiting for them to open. After a couple of minutes, she heard a whirring sound from below followed by the doors opening.

"So, you're finally here, user of the Fire El."

"Are you here to stop me?" The girl was wearing all red, and had an empty look in her eyes.

"I should start off by saying: Welcome to the Crossroads of Destiny."

"…where did you hear that phrase?"

"Why does it matter?"

"…my father told me "We will meet again at the Crossroads of Destiny." Is this that place?"

"I can't say for sure whether or not your father is here, but this is the place where everyone's destinies come together. Now, if we could skip the idle chatter, I'll be needing the Fire El now."

She looked down at her sword. "I don't need the El anyway. You can take the El as long as I have the sword."

She thought for a moment. "There should be a seal on the sword."

She immediately grabbed it off the cross guard and handed it to her.

"Thank you. You may go as you please now."

She walked off, starting up the path as Eve began to combine the fragments of the El into a singular, large crystal, forming it into the shape of a prism.

"Now, at the peak of the eclipse, I shall use the power of the El to attain all the power I could desire, and destroying everything else in the process!"

?

It wasn't supposed to end like this

It was supposed to be a peaceful viewing of the candidates

There was never supposed to be violence

There was never supposed to be death

There was never supposed to be an invasion

Or revival

Or false hope

Or destruction of any kind

They were all supposed to meet

They were all supposed to become friends

They were all supposed to share laughs

And tears

And experiences

And struggles

But none of that happened

And now it never will

Because the perpetrator of the worlds destruction

Combined the sun, the moon, and the prism

And used the power to destroy everything

And now that the world's end has been brought about

In the end, who is it that will survive?

~0|Part 1 End|0~


	22. Echoes of the Past Chapter 1: Together

Together

"Elsword."

…

"Elsword!"

…

"Elsword, get up, you dumbass!"

"Wah!" He woke to find his sister shaking him. "I'm up, I'm up!"

She folded her arms. "Geez, Elsword. You can't keep sleeping until noon every day. When the academy starts back up, you're gonna be late!"

He laughed and scratched the back o his head with his arm. "I know, I know. I'll… fix that when the time comes."

She sighed and turned away. "Anyway, Aisha's here to see you. Said it's important."

"Aisha…? Why would she…?"

"Don't know, but I wouldn't keep her waiting. She doesn't look happy." She walked out of his room.

The weirdest part about this was Aisha. Normally, she wouldn't go to see him, no matter the situation. Whatever it was must have been _really_ important. But then, she probably would have gotten Elesis if it was _that_ important.

Finished getting ready, he went to the door. "Morning, Aish-"

"Elsword, you dummy!" He was then greeted with a punch to the stomach. It wasn't strong, but he wasn't expecting it. She took the opportunity of him having bent over slightly, and grabbed the collar of his shirt, starting to drag him. "It's no wonder you're so short! First, you only eat meat, then there's you sleep schedule! You literally sleep for half the day!"

Still half asleep, he answered tiredly. "You say that, but I'm still taller than you. In fact, you're so small, you're like a-" he felt a kick to his gut, knocking the wind out of him.

"Two things. One, I'm not small! And two, how could you not remember?! It only happened yesterday!"

"Yesterday?" He didn't remember anything significant happening. He woke up around noon, hung out with Aisha and Rena near the El Tree, then Rena asked him to- oh. "Oh!" He stood up, freeing himself from Aisha's death grip, causing her to fall over.

"Ah!" She looked up, then spoke in (at least as close as she could get) a dark and grumbly voice. "Elsword… I'm going to KILL YOU!" She began to run after Elsword with her eyes full of murderous intent.

Had he not been able to run faster than her, she probably would have actually killed him. Fortunately for him, he made it to the top of the hill with the tree Rena had asked him to meet her by. He found her sitting asleep next to the tree, and brushed a strand of hair off to the side.

She began to open her eyes, and, seeing how close to her he was, she leaned back, her eyes wide. "E-Elsword? W-what are you doing?"

"Ah, well I, uh, saw a strand of hair in your mouth, and I thought it might be uncomfortable so I, uh… moved it…"

Her eyes relaxed, and she leaned back forward. "Oh. Th-thanks, I guess." She stood up and took a deep breath. "You can do this, Rena!"

"…what?"

She took another deep breath before speaking loudly, "Elsword, I know we might've not met on the best of terms, but I actually… I um…" her voice trailed and she began muttering to herself. "Shit, what was the next line? Maybe…"

"Rena, are you trying to-"

"This is _your_ fault, you know. For being late to _my_ confessional."

"Rena, I think I-"

"You know what? Screw my script. Elsword, will you go out with me?"

He paused for a moment. This had gone exactly as he expected, having figured it out when she told herself that she could do it. "Rena, don't get me wrong. You're cute, funny, and a good fighter. But I'm just not looking for that kind of thing right now. I hope you understand."

She paused, and her eyes dropped. "I see. I get it, though." Her bright face came back. "If… if you ever change your mind, I'll still be here." She smiled softly at him.

The two then parted ways, and from just the other side of the hill, he could hear Aisha say, "So? How'd it go?"

He felt a little guilty after hearing Aisha say that, but what was he supposed to do? Sure, she was a good person and all, but he genuinely didn't want to be in a relationship like that. At least, not yet. He laid down on the grass, and watched the rich blue sky until he dozed off to sleep.

After what felt to be a few hours, he woke up to a familiarly horrifying sound. "EeeelllsWWWOOOORRRRD!" Aisha's voice could be heard echoing.

I need to move, he thought. I may actually die here.

And yet, he just laid there. Whether or not he was paralyzed in fear, he had no idea. What he did know was that it wouldn't take Aisha long to find where he was.

"Elsword! Wake up, you big dummy! I'm talking to you!"

He just then realized that he had closed his eyes. Opening them, he looked back at Aisha, who was leaning over him.

"How could you just reject Rena like that?! Do you have any idea how long she's been planning this?!"

"Um… no?"

"Months! She completely broke down crying after you rejected her!"

"Aisha, don't make things up!" Rena stood behind her. "I didn't take it _that_ badly. Besides, had you listened to me instead of just taken off, you would know that I was kind of expecting this. Elsword, just ignore her."

"What?! Rena, I'm doing this for you! I-"

Her playful face was gone, and replaced with the serious one they had rarely seen. "Aisha, stop. You're not helping anything."

Aisha hesitated before answering. "Fine. I'm going home." She stormed off.

"I should probably see what kind of poison Elesis is preparing for dinner. See you later, Rena!"

He walked back home. "I'm back!"

"Welcome back, Elsword!" Elesis' voice called from the kitchen.

"So what kind of death is for dinner this time?"

"Hey! My cooking's not _that_ bad!" She stepped out of the kitchen.

"Elesis, you burned a smoothie."

"It's not _my_ fault the blender wouldn't work!"

"Sure, sure. Blame it on your equipment."

She stomped her foot. "That's a _perfectly_ valid reason!"

"Uh huh." He sniffed the air. "Do I even want to know what that horrific smell is?"

"Hah!" She folded her arms and puffed her chest. "I'll have you know I'm proud of my curry today!"

He leaned over and glanced in the kitchen. "Is it _supposed_ to be on fire?"

"Y-yes…!" They both paused for a moment. "S-shut up! Let me get back to my cooking!" She ran back into the kitchen. After hearing her cough, he decided go out back and practice for a while. Not long after, she called him back in for dinner.

He took a small plate of food. "Please don't let this kill me." He took a small bite, then stood up. "Actually, I just remembered that I'm not really that hungry, so I'm just going to go to bed, okay? Okay." He started to walk away, but was stopped by Elesis grabbing the collar of his sweater.

"Now hold on, Elsword~ I happen to know for a fact that you haven't eaten yet today. And because I know how much you _love_ eating meat, I made you EXTRA PORTIONS!"

With a yell of true terror, Elsword was sat down, and he forced down several platefuls of her burned curry. "There… I'm… done…"

"Good! And now, for desert, I made…"

"NO! NO, I'm not eating anything else tonight!"

"I'm joking, Elsword. You're free to do whatever."

He got up and went to bed for the night. He woke up to the sun barely rising over the horizon. Rather than going back to sleep like he normally would, he decided to go back out and practice. Not long after, Elesis joined him.

"You know, you'd do more damage if you used a claymore, like me."

"And I'm still going to beat you without one, someday."

"And I still believe you."

"Then why don't we have a match? Here and now."

"What? Are you kidding? This early? I still have things to do today. You should have asked me after dinner."

"You know what? Fine. I'm done anyway. Field is yours."

"Oh, and why don't you invite your friends over for dinner?"

"Which ones?"

"What do you mean, which ones? Those two girls you always hang out with."

"Oh, right. Them."

"I promise I won't serve them 'liquid death' this time."

"Or any other kind of death?"

"I'll go out and get something."

"Alright. In that case, I'll ask them."

He headed out and went to the El Tree, where the three of them normally met up, and found Rena sleeping at the base of the tree. "You know, Dad's offered for you to stay with us several times. You don't need to sleep out here."

She yawned and looked over at him. "I know. I just don't know how the rest of the elves would feel about me being taken care of by some humans."

"Well, that's what'll happen if you stay out here for too long. You're going to get sick eventually."

"I'll take that risk. It's yet to happen." She looked at the sky. "I'm surprised you're up this early, Elsword."

"Yeah, well, I decided I needed to get serious about my training if I ever want to beat my sister in a match."

"You know, if you used a claymore like her, you'd easily beat her."

"I know, but I don't just want to copy her. Besides, if I do that, people might lose respect for her, seeing her younger sibling far surpass her. She might be taking care of me while dad's gone, but that doesn't mean I can't also take care of her for the long run."

"That's… strangely mature of you, Elsword."

"Yeah, well… I guess I need to grow up sometime."

"Oh, so _now_ you two hit it off?" Aisha spoke in a joking manner from a tree root not far off.

"Would you shut it, Aisha? He rejected me fair and square. Nothing's changed between us."

"Oh, sure, sure~"

"Aisha, seriously. We're all friends here." Elsword stood up alongside Rena.

"Oh? Are you asking me to be friends with a stupid brat like you?"

"No, I just- shut up." He shoved her shoulder.

"Hey, just because I don't have _all_ of my magic doesn't mean I couldn't beat the daylights out of you in a fight!"

"Yeah? You want to try it? I assure you, you'll lose!"

"Guys, stop. We shouldn't fight here, with the shard and all."

"Oh, right. That. Thanks for the reminder. How about your place then, Aisha? That should be far enough." Elsword commented, putting his sword on his shoulder.

"Oh, really? You're asking a girl if you can go to her house? Even when Rena is right here?"

"Fine. I guess you're too afraid of how miserably I'll beat you!"

"No, I just think you'll take advantage of the fact that I don't want to destroy my house."

Rena sighed. "Get a room, you two."

They both looked over at her.

"You know, Aisha, We could use some supervision to make sure neither of us goes overboard."

"Finally, something we can agree on!"

They both smiled at Rena, who started backing up, before her back hit the tree.

"Oh no. No, no. I'm not getting mixed up in your affairs. Not again. Never again!" She then leaped over a nearby root and ran off.

Elsword sighed and shook his head. "Well, I guess that settles the stakes then."

"Same as always, before Rena intervenes?"

"The winner gets to be Rena's friend."

"The loser is killed in battle."

"Then we'll start when we get to your place."

"Wait, why _my_ place?!"

"Because if we do it at mine, Elesis'll kill us both!"

"So?!"

"Oh, I see. You just wanted an excuse to go to a boy's house, huh Aisha?" Rena's voice came from behind them.

"Wh-what?!" Aisha whipped around, and glared at her.

"And you two aren't going to fight with those terms. Because the minute you do, I'll abandon you both. Is that clear?" She had put on her serious face again.

"But Rena, we just-" Aisha started.

"Shut it. I don't have to talk to either of you. And if I hear you guys talk about this one more time, then I won't let you two near the tree at all. Got it?"

The two of them lowered their heads. "Sorry, Rena. I… I didn't know this meant that much to you." Elsword apologized.

"We won't seriously consider it again." Aisha added on.

"Good!" Rena's face returned to its usual bright self. "Now, why don't we do something fun together? I heard the hot springs here were nice."

"You haven't been yet?"

"I've been pretty busy."

"But guys and girls are separated for… obvious reasons." Elsword pointed out.

"Are you just opposed to it because you won't get to see Rena and I in a towel?" Aisha teased.

"Well, first, you wouldn't be much to look at," Elsword teased back.

"Hey! I'm not _that_ small!" Aisha tried to defend herself.

"and second, she suggested something together, not just the two of you." He pointed out.

"Hmm…" Rena had a thoughtful look on her face. "Actually, I think I have an idea."

~0{]|[}0~

"Rena, I can't believe that you actually rented out the entire spring just so we wouldn't have to be in split baths." Elsword stood in disbelief, looking at the spring.

"Let's just say that this is their way of repaying a favor I did for them once, and leave it at that." Rena started walking towards the water.

"What kind of favor did you do that warrants renting out the entire spring as repayment?" Aisha questioned.

"Oh, this and that. I'm not really going to tell you~" she teased as she entered the water. "Ah~ this is nice!"

The other two looked at each other and stated towards the water. "So, let me get this strait, you did a favor for the people who run this place, but never actually went into the spring?" Elsword began questioning.

"I told you, I'm not going to tell you anything else~" Her voice was completely relaxed, and it was clear to both of them that they weren't going to get anything else out of her. "I feel like I could just melt away~"

He shook his head and went into the spring on the opposite side of the girls. "You know, you really are impossible, sometimes."

"Yeah, I mean, you probably did this just so you could see him shirtless!" Aisha teased.

They both waited for a reply, but none came. After a few seconds, Aisha looked at Rena's tilted back head. "She's asleep."

"Asleep?! What do you mean she fell asleep?!"

"Well, I mean that her eyes are closed, and she's breathing deeply."

"Thanks, I got that much. But… what?!"

Aisha sighed. "Sleeping is a state in which a person's mind falls unconscious in order to-"

"Alright, I think that's enough of this." He stood up.

"Enough of what? Hey, where are you going?!" She stood up and began to walk towards the leaving Elsword.

"I'm going home. I don't feel like I need this kind of sass from you right now."

"So you're just going to let Rena's favor go to waste?"

"…" He thought for a few moments. "…fine." He walked back over and sat back in the springs. "But to be clear, I'm only doing this because I don't want Rena to feel bad about using her favor like this, not anything even remotely related to you."

She put her hands on her hips. "Looks like I win this time!"

"Your towel's sliding down. You may want to adjust it before I see something you don't want me to."

"!" She quickly brought her arms up and readjusted her towel. "Payback?"

"Nah. Payback would be me pointing out that there wouldn't really be anything to see even if it did fall."

"Excuse me?! I… I'm not _that_ small!" She started blushing madly.

"When's the last time you looked in a mirror? You really are."

"A-am not! Y-you're just saying that because you're short!"

"Hey, I'll at least admit to that. I just haven't hit my growth spurt yet! You, on the other hand…"

"Hey! I'm the same age as you, dummy!"

"Keep telling yourself that. Maybe it'll be true one day."

"IT _IS_ TRUE!"

"Whatever you say, old hag."

"Well I'm not the creep looking at people's chests!"

"You're doing it now, Aisha. I'd say you are."

"Well I… Shut up!"

Just then, he realized that Rena was no longer sitting in the spring. He caught a glimpse of green hair under the water and dove into the shallow spring after her.

"W-what are you doing, you perv?!"

By then, he couldn't hear her, being completely underwater. She swam up to her and picked her up, raising out of the water. He then walked out of the spring and set her on the ground.

"O-oh. I… I didn't notice…"

After coughing for a short while, she spoke. "Ah~ That was nice~"

"She's fine. Aisha, could you look after her? I'm going to train before Elesis kills me for not training for two days."

"Wait, so you're really going to just leave her here?"

"Aisha… I, well, let's be honest. I don't like you. But even so, I… still trust you to do the right thing." He left the spring, dressed himself, and headed back.

~0{]|[}0~

"I'm home!" He announced his arrival.

"Welcome back, Elsword!" He was met with a familiar, deep voice.

"Wait… Dad?!"

"Haha! How's it going, kiddo?"

"But I thought… When did you get back?"

"Not long after you left." Elesis stepped into the room. "And since I know you're probably tired from your travel, I'll cook dinner."

"Oh, I'm not so tired as to put up with your cooking, Elesis. Really, I'll cook."

"Hey! W-what's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, no offense, Elesis, but your cooking is terrible!"

"I-it's not _that_ bad! And how am I supposed to _not_ take offense from that?!"

"Let me put it this way. You inherited your cooking skills from your mother."

"Hey! That's not any better!"

"He's right, Elesis. Your cooking's almost killed me several times, too!" Elsword joined in the joking.

Elesis sighed in defeat. "Fine. But keep in mind that we'll have guests tonight."

"Guests?" Elsword looked confused.

"…you _did_ remember to ask them, right?"

"Ah… well… now that you mention it…"

She sighed again. "That's fine. I'll go and ask them. You two can just wait here and… I don't know. Start dinner or something." She left the house.

"You know, Elsword? Your sister's grown up a lot since I've been gone. Her cooking may be bad, but she at least takes the initiative to do things."

"I mean, I guess so. Wasn't she always like that, though?"

"You've grown up a lot too, you know."

Are you ignoring my question, Elsword thought. "Thanks, I guess."

"You may not see it now, but you will later. You'll look back on how you behaved when you were younger and you'll see how much you've changed. Now your sister's right. I need to get to cooking."

~0{]|[}0~

I didn't know it at the time, but that meal would be the last one the five of us had together. My father left the next morning on a mission, and my sister left on a personal quest a few weeks after. I dropped from Ruben's school system to take up my sisters role of guarding the El Shard, at least during the day. About two years later, everything started to change when Banthus stole the Shard.

~0{]|Part 2: Echoes of the Past begins|[}0~


	23. Chapter 2: Grandfather

2\. Grandfather

"Aisha! You are the daughter of the Landar family! Stop using your exceptional gift for childish games at once!"

This wasn't the first time she had been yelled at for using her magic like this. Her father was very strict about her magic usage.

"Yes, father…"

"Now, now, Risim. She's only eight years old. Let her explore her powers as she sees fit." Her grandfather was always the one to stand up for her.

Her father grumbled. "When I was her age, I was able to use my magic to kill a bear!"

"And who's choice was it to learn to use magic that way? Yours. I gave you that freedom."

"And as her father, I choose to have her study combat magics!"

"Risim, you are not the master of this household! And if you keep up this behavior, you never shall be! Come, Aisha. Let's practice magic the way _you_ want to."

"Okay!" She stood up and happily ran to his office. She didn't understand what either of them were talking about, and she didn't pretend to. All she knew is that she wanted to play with her spectral bunnies.

"That girl will bring disgrace to our family, old man."

" _You_ are the one who has brought disgrace to our family, Risim. This girl will _restore_ our family name."

A few months later, my father was killed. I never learned who it was that killed him, or even the slightest reason why. Grandfather kept me close after that. He taught me how to use the magics I wanted to use in ways I hadn't been able to even imagine before.

I never understood what he meant by talented. Maybe it was what he said was my fast pace of learning new magics. But more than that, he said that he spent months trying to read books that I could just pick up and read. Thinking back, that was probably how I learned most of my spells. I read about them in books, asked questions, and tried casting them.

This was probably the happiest I've ever been. But that all came crashing to an end one day when he called me in to his office.

"Aisha… there's something… you need to have… before I go…"

"Go? Go where? On a trip?"

"My time… has come. Aisha… death has come… for me."

"What do you mean? I… I still have so much to learn…"

"In time, Aisha… in time. For now… take this…" He placed a scroll in her hand. "Never open this… Aisha… People… will come… for it… if they know…"

"Know what? What is this?"

"Aisha… My dear Aisha… Go to Ruben… There… you can… restore what… your father and I… lost…"

"What you lost? I… I don't understand."

"Aisha… My last request… go to Ruben… keep it… safe… re…store…"

"Grandfather? Grandfather! Get up! Come on, this isn't…" Tears started rolling down her cheek, "this isn't funny! Get up!"

After crying for a while, she dried her tears and walked out of the room.

"Aisha! What happened? Why were you in there for so long?!"

She shook her head.

"Aisha… if it was something bad, I need to know."

"I… I'm going to Ruben."

"What? When? W-what about your training?"

"Now. And I'm finishing it there."

"What?! Why would… what about your grandfather? Isn't he going to finish your training?"

"He's… that was…" She took in a breath and sobbed. "That was his last request."

"What?! What do you mean?!"

"He's dead! You get it now?! He's… he's dead!"

"What?! Did he at least tell you who his successor was?!"

She shook her head again.

"That's… that's impossible! What about-"

"I'm going now. I don't really care about your politics. I'm going to carry out his last wish and go to Ruben to complete my training. You can tell everyone I said goodbye. I'm leaving my things."

I left after that. And I never looked back. On the ship ride to Ruben, I read the scroll. He appointed me to be the next head of the family. The Ruben Academy gave me a place to stay. Not long after, I met that boy. I hated him. I really did. Even long after Banthus stole the El Shard. I truly hated him, but… well… I guess… I fell in love with him.


	24. Chapter 3: Mission

3\. Mission

"You called, sir?" She sat with her left knee and right hand in a fist on the ground.

"Ah, Rena! Our talented prodigy! How are you doing?"

She hesitated a bit. "Um… w-with all due respect, sir, I think we'd both find this more comfortable if we could get to the main point."

"Of course. Rena, I have your first assignment."

"W-what?! I'm receiving my first mission from you?!"

"I understand that it's not every day that a ranger fresh from training receives their first mission from a grand council member, but, to be perfectly blunt, you're one of the best we have."

"I… I see. And what am I to do?"

"There's a small village to the West of here. Ruben. Have you heard of it?"

"It's home of the Ruben Academy, the El Tree, and the captain of the Red Knights, Captain Sieghart."

"That's the one. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, would be to go to Ruben and protect the El Tree."

"The Tree? What happened to it?"

"Nothing… yet. And hopefully nothing will."

"Um… if… if nothing's happened, then why…?"

"Why are we sending you out?"

She nodded.

"The entire council has been getting… feelings. Some claim to have visions. Something will happen to the El."

"Then, with all due respect, sir, wouldn't it be better to send multiple people? If something bad really is about to happen, then wouldn't multiple people have a better chance at stopping it?"

"You have a good head, Rena. Many of us came to the same conclusion. However, politics often get in the way of doing what is right."

"…what do you mean?"

"The elves have worked hard to maintain a peaceful relationship with the humans. One of the terms of our peace treaty states that we can't have more than one ranger in a given area. The humans wouldn't take kindly to us suddenly breaking that term and fully occupying a human town because 'we had a bad feeling.'"

"I-I see. But then, with all due respect, wouldn't it be better to send some… I don't know… more skilled and experienced than me?"

"Rena, when the council was trying to decide who would be sent, half of us suggested you by name."

"But I-"

"Your lack of confidence to complete this mission solely comes from your lack of experience, I believe. With any luck, we will be wrong, and nothing will happen. But if something _does_ go wrong, the council trusts that you can handle it better than most of the other rangers."

"…Very well. I understand. How long will I be gone?"

"It will be a short mission. Only about ten years, unless you wish to stay longer."

"T-ten years?! Sir, with all due respect-"

"You wish to go on the group mission that the rest of your friends from training are going on?"

"Uh…" She hesitantly nodded. "…Yes sir."

"Very well. I can't stop you if you wish to complete that mission instead. I can only hope that you will reconsider."

"Sir… I apologize for disappointing the council."

"Rena…" He walked up to her. "Leaving your friends behind is no easy feat. You don't know when, or even if, you'll get to see them again. None of us will blame you in the slightest if you choose to turn down this mission. But in case you change your mind, I will give you a week to come back and speak to me."

"But, sir…"

"Your friends mission leaves tomorrow, is your only concern, right?"

She nodded.

"This will give you time to come back if you change your mind during the mission."

"Thank you, sir."

"You are dismissed."

She started to walk off.

"Oh, and Rena. I won't inform the council of your decision until the week has passed. It'll look better if you took time to consider it before declining. Whether or not you take that time to actually consider is up to you."

"Thank you, sir." She walked back to the building where her team was set to stay until they left for their missions.

~0{]|[}0~

"So? How'd it go?" One of her friends asked upon her arrival.

"Huh? How'd what go?"

"Aw, come on! You know _exactly_ what I mean!"

"…no?"

"The meeting with the council member! You know, the _one_ thing that you left to go do? You _did_ go, didn't you?"

"Oh, that. Yeah, I went."

She waved the others over. "So? Tell us _all_ about it. Unless, you know. It's top secret, or something like that."

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that."

"Then tell us what happened! I've been waiting practically since you left!" A guy from her team nudged her. "After all, it's not every day that some recruit is called by a high member of the Grand Council."

"It's… it's nothing you guys need to concern yourselves with."

"Well now I _really_ want to know!" The other friend nudged her.

"Well… he just wanted to congratulate me, is all. For clearing training so fast, I mean."

"Hmm… I don't buy it." The guy said.

"Yeah. I don't either." The girl folded her arms.

Rena sighed. "Fine. But I'm only telling you two, and we'll go somewhere we won't be heard first."

The three of the headed into the basement, and entered a secret room they had fund while exploring the place. Rena then told them what had happened.

The girl slammed her fists on a table. "And you turned that down?! How could you?! If it were me, then I would have accepted it without a single thought!"

"Then I guess that's where we're different, Lua. I can't make a decision like leaving my friends behind so easily."

"But still… I can't imagine turning an opportunity like that down…"

"I think you made the right decision, Rena."

"Thanks, Branwen. I appreciate it."

Lua sighed. "Well, I guess if you've decided on that, then I'll support you. After all, that's what we do as the Trinity!"

Rena smiled and lowered her head. "Thanks Lua." She looked up, "You know, you're still the only one who's agreed to that name!"

She huffed her face. "What are you talking about? Branwen agrees with me, right?"

"Uh…" He hesitated. "Y-yes ma'am!"

Lua folded her arms. "Hah! See? That's two out of three! The name sticks!"

Rena sighed and shook her head. "Well, I guess there are three of us, so it at least works…"

"I'll take that as a unanimous agreement to the name! When we finish the mission, we'll form our group with that name!"

She let out a soft laugh. "Well then, I guess we should get some rest for our mission tomorrow, then." She headed to the door. "See you guys tomorrow morning! Don't forget, Lua, call time is at four!"

"Hey, I'm not the one you need to worry about! I'll be up at one!"

She waved back at them, "It's one _now_ , Lua. Just don't make me come and get you up, okay?"

She then left and went back to her room, preparing her things for their early departure time, and went to sleep for a while, then woke back up, picked up her things and left.

Arriving at the gathering site, there were three others who arrived before her, and most of the troupe trickled in shortly after. Everyone then began to check the attendance of their own sections.

"Is everyone present?"

"Um…" A voice called out from the back. "We're missing someone back here. We don't know who, but one of the support mages isn't here."

"A support mage?" The commander spoke quietly under his breath. "There aren't many this time. Who could it be?"

"Commander, I think I might know. Could I go and find her?" Rena was already in the front as a scout, so she was able to overhear the commander.

"Rena…? If it were anyone else, I'd say no, but I'll make an exception just for you. If you're not back in five minutes, though, we're leaving without you two."

"Understood. I'll be right back!" She quickly ran back the Luas room to find her still sleeping.

"Lua! Get up! We're about to leave!"

"Mmm… five more minutes…"

"Everyone's going to leave in five minutes! We need to go NOW!" She pulled her arm, dragging her out of bed. "Seriously?! You changed into pajamas before a mission?!"

"Hey, it's not _my_ fault we stayed up late before an early mission…"

"It kind of is! And what does that have to do with changing, anyway?!" She sighed. "Look, just get changed, and I'll get your things together. Just do it fast, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she collected the things she had seen Lua carry with her during various missions.

Finishing, she went to check back in on Lua. "What?! How can you not be _any_ closer?! It's been several minutes!"

"I mean, it's not like this is a super big deal. If it's only the two of us, I'm sure they'll make due."

Rena went up to her and slapped her across the face. "What the hell, Lua? This isn't training anymore. This is an actual mission. This is real life. The three of us can only be a trinity if you can wake up to see that this isn't a dream. Get your life together, Lua. Because we won't wait for you forever. All of this… it might disappear some day. And if you don't catch up, you'll be left behind. Like the people you did to get this far." She threw the rest of her outfit at her. "Now hurry up. I'll wait outside, and I'll lead you to the first rest spot on the map, according to the schedule."

She left the room and a few minutes later, Lua came out with her head down. "I'm ready. Let's go."

~0{]|[}0~

After a while of walking, Rena noticed that Luas head had been down for a while. "What's up?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You've been looking down for a while, since you left your room. What's up?"

"Oh, well…" She paused for a moment. "I've been thinking about what you said. What did you mean when you said I'd left people behind to get where I am?"

She sighed and lowered her head. "This world is cruel. It forces us to leave behind the ones we care about to better ourselves. If we want to move on, we have to use others as stepping stones. We make them fail in order for us to succeed. After all, only so many people move on to reach this high. Everyone else is removed during training. Three people from each group are selected to move on and join a new group, the rest are removed, and the process begins again. Thirty thousand candidates reduced to only thirty. But this involves several large group activities. You have to work with people knowing most of them will be unable to advance. That's the cruel truth of this world. To succeed, you must make others fail."

"But Branwen and I-"

"Only met in the stage before this. I recognize the symbols on your uniforms. Yes, you _can_ help people. But I'd be willing to bet that most people only helped others in that last round, when they know they wouldn't be competition anymore."

"But that's not… I-I would never…"

"Believe what you will. I don't mean to be the person to sound this dark, but all things in the world behave this way. Animals compete with each other for food. Plants compete with each other for sunlight. This isn't something that we as people do that's unique. It's the way of the world."

"Ah… I see…"

"In any case, there's a road up ahead. We'll take a rest on the road."

"Wouldn't it be safer if we rested off to the side of the road?"

"Normally, yes, you'd be right. However, this route is usually only used by new groups like us. Scouts don't even report wildlife on the road. Plus, I have an idea on how we can catch up to the rest of them before they arrive at their campsite. But for now, let's just rest. We'll need our energy later."

~0{]|[}0~

"Rena?" The commanders voice spoke. "How did you get here ahead of us? The only faster way was-"

"Through the forest," They both said in tandem.

"I know. It was risky, but it was… well, I guess it wasn't the _only_ way, but all things considered, it was probably the best way."

"Hmm… Lua, head to the back with the other support people. Rena, you're going to tell me the other methods of how you could reach this point faster than us other than heading through the forest."

The two of them talked as they continued on their path, pointing at a map and giving possible faster routes, though were considerably less safe, many of which involved a nearby river. When they reached their planned camp site, the two of them parted ways, and Rena went to the campfire with several of the others. This pattern continued for the next two days, until Lua came up to her.

"So what's buggin ya?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Come on," Branwen's voice came from not far behind Lua, "You really thought we wouldn't notice?"

"Notice what? I… I genuinely don't know what you guys are talking about." She let out a small, playful laugh, but the others remained with a serious face.

They glanced at each other before looking back to her. "You've been deep in thought since you came back from the council member. You're _still_ deep in thought." Lua commented. "I'm just… I want to make sure everything's okay, you know?"

She looked down at the fire. "It's just… I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"You're still trying to decide if you should go or not, aren't you?" Branwen questioned.

"Branwan!" Lua elbowed him, speaking quietly through her teeth. "She's here, isn't she?"

Rena Looked up from the fire, then back at the two of them. "Brenwen… I think you might be right. I mean... I decided to go on this mission, but..."

"Rena," Lua called. "When you told me about people using each other to advance themselves, you were talking about yourself, weren't you?"

"I'm sorry, Lua. But I think… This is what I'm supposed to do."

"And here I thought," She looked down, "we'd be able to be a trinity together…"

"Lua, I'm only going to be gone for ten years. I'll be back in practically no time at all! And when I come back, we can still form that trinity!"

"Don't kid yourself, Rena. Ten years is a long time. By the time you come back, we'll all have changed drastically. You'll most likely have become more independent, and will receive missions that will suit your new solo nature. As for us… well… who knows where we'll be? We might be stationed at the other end of the world."

"Rena, if this is what you want, then go. You said you have a week to change your mind, right? If you leave now, you can still make it in time."

She smiled for a moment, then returned to a frown. "But what about Lua? She seems pretty torn up about this."

Lua was looking down, her arms by her side, shaking.

"Rena, if you really want to go, then go. I'll take care of Lua for you."

She smiled and stood up. "Thanks, Branwen." She walked over to Lua and grabbed her shoulders. "Lua, I promise that when my time in Ruben is up, I'll come to be with you guys. No matter where in the world that may be. Even if it means that I have to go to the moon and back, I'll find a way to be with you two."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Then… I guess it'll be okay." She took Rena into a hug. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Lua."

She broke the hug. "You'd better get going. Don't want to be late, I guess."

She smiled. "Guess you're right. See you in ten years, then!" She went back to her bedroll and gathered her things, and took the three day journey back.

~0{]|[}0~

She had spent most of the time since she had arrived looking for the Council member she had spoken with earlier. She had checked around the grounds on her way to his office. She panicked at first when he wasn't in his office, but then had a thought: 'the meeting!'

She sprinted as fast as she could to the meeting hall, bursting through the door connecting to the inside, resting her hands on her knees as she saw the council member about to open the door to the meeting room.

He then stopped and looked at her. "Well, well, look what we have here! Changed your mind, have you?"

She was panting. "Yeah… I've… decided to… go on… your mission…"

"Well, I won't ask for any details. I think those should be yours to tell if you please."

"Thank you… sir…"

"Now, you should catch your breath and drop your gear before we go in. And just a warning, the others might not share the opinions that I do about you keeping to yourself. But if all goes well, you won't have to say anything you don't want to."

"Understood…" She took a few deep breaths and dropped her gear next to the door. "I think I'm ready."

He nodded and opened the door. As he did, conversations that had been ongoing inside the room stopped as the other council members all turned their heads to the door.

"Well, what's the bad news you said you had? It certainly doesn't appear to be about the girl, as everyone had anticipated." One of the other council members spoke.

"Ah, yes. We should sit down before we get to business, no?" He turned to a nearby guard. "Get Rena a seat, will you?"

"Um, with all due respect, sir, I think it would be better if I remained standing."

The guard looked at the council member, who gave him a nod. "Very well, if that's what you wish." He walked over and took his seat. "Now, let's begin."

"You were telling us of the bad news?" The one from earlier spoke.

"That's right. Henir's Order has annihilated our last squad. As per our decision, the recent group or recruits have been redirected from their mission to fight them."

"Wait…" Rena interjected, "why are we fighting Henir's Order?"

"The fact that you don't know means we've been doing our jobs," A person to her left spoke, "We've been keeping a war with the Order a secret for nearly a hundred years now."

"But… why? Wouldn't it be better for the people to know that we're at war?"

"Any place that has declared to the people that they are at war with the Order has fallen not long after," Someone to her right spoke, "Do you know why?"

"Because… Henir's Order is an unbelievably powerful force that has an unmatchable power source?"

"Because people become afraid of losing. When people hear that there is with a war with Henir's Order, more often than not, the people will side with the Order to avoid being killed by them. These places are destroyed from the inside out."

"But then why would you send a group of recruits to fight them? Surely you have stronger, more experienced people to fight them with."

"Rena," The council member who brought her spoke, "when I said the last squad was destroyed, I didn't mean the previous one we sent. I meant the final one. Rena, there _is_ no one else. The recruits from your squad are the last military forces we have."

"But then… why put them up against the Order?! They won't last a minute!"

"Rena, do you know why, this time around, we had all the magic users grouped together from the beginning?"

"I… hadn't given it much thought."

"We have a secret weapon this time around." Another person spoke. "It's often described as 'A brilliant prismatic crystal, capable of vanishing the darkness of the void.'"

"You're giving one of the Light Relics to someone new?! I'm telling you, no one among the recruits has the kind of power to activate it!"

"Rena, that's the reason we separated them out in the first place," The first member spoke again, "To find someone capable of using it before we're out of time. And it worked. We found that person."

"Well… who was it?"

"I don't know if you knew her, but her name is 'Lua.' She was the top of all the advancing groups, up until you claimed that spot in this last squad."

"Lua? But… I think you must be mistaken. I mean, she has a good heart, but to activate a Relic…"

"She's a descendant of several people who have activated Relics in the past, and additionally some of the most powerful magic families ever to exist among the elves."

"But even so, how can you be sure that the Relic will choose her?"

"There's another detail about her. She's not entirely elven. She's half. Her father was an elf. Her mother was a member of the human Landar family. All of them have been able to activate a Relic. It's a safe bet that she will be able to as well."

"…" She didn't know how to respond to something like that.

"If you're done wasting our time, girl," The council member who greeted them as they entered spoke, "Then we congratulate you on your position. I'm sure you remember, but you are to go to Ruben and watch over the El Shard there."

"Yes, I remember. That you for the reminder, sir." She said through her teeth. "I believe this is your way of asking me to begin, then?"

The next day, I had packed my things and moved out to Ruben. I was greeted by Captain Sieghart of the Red Knights, who offered me a place to stay with his two kids. I turned him down, aware of the misfortune his family had recently come by, explaining that I didn't want to feel like a replacement. I told him I'd probably be scarce to the village people, because I'd be watching over the El most of the time. Though, it was a small village, so I ended up knowing most of everyone in a few years. Sieghart's boy seemed to enjoy hanging out with me, despite my initial attempts to remain isolated. A few years later, a girl with distinct purple hair moved into the village, and became friends with the two of us. She could be annoying at times, but I think it worked with the group dynamics.

I found out shortly after my arrival that the group my friends were in had been mutually destroyed along with Henir's Order. It gave them more credit in my book that they were able to do that well against that kind of enemy. But then again, what good is credit if you're dead? In the ninth year of my time in Ruben, the Council's hunch that something would happen to the El came to fruition when Banthus stole the El Shard. The peaceful times I had been enjoying until then suddenly came to an end, and I found myself wrapped up in something much bigger than I could have possibly imagined when I began my training.


	25. Chapter 4: Vigilantes

4\. Vigilantes

"Raven! Raven, wake up!" A familiar, excited voice shook him awake.

"Hmm? Seris?"

"Big news!" She held a newspaper up to him. The headline read 'Major Break-In at Palace.' "There's no evidence as to who did it, but a shady merchant is leaving town with two mercenaries as guards!"

Having read through the paper, he replied. "What is he, an idiot? Why would you agree to sell goods like that?"

"Uh, because he's a thief desperate for money!"

He sighed. "Seris, this merchant isn't the thief. Chances are, he wasn't the one to steal from the palace. He may be a fence, but that doesn't make him a thief."

She huffed. "Then who do you think is?"

"Well," He started, "Given that there's no evidence, whoever did it must have had a key to wherever it is they need to go. That means there's two people who could have possibly done it. Either one of the butlers or maids, or one of the royal advisors."

"And why couldn't it have been anyone else?"

"Because the butlers and maids have their keys on them at all times, and the royal advisors sleep behind some of the most secure doors in the kingdom. While the butlers and maids have keys to any door, they don't have access to secure things like display cases. The royal advisors do."

"So then, it one someone from one of those two groups?"

"Normally, yes. But there's a simple fact about the palace that makes only one of them possible."

"And what's that?"

"Cleaning isn't done until sunrise, and there are guards in front of the secure doors. The butlers and maids wouldn't have been able to sneak into that area to steal the keys. Additionally, no one reported their keys being stolen in the first place."

"So then… one of the advisors did it… Should we report this?"

"If I know the investigators as well as I think they do, they'll have had the same line of thinking. Though, everyone will likely be under investigation anyway."

"It could speed it along, though. Why don't we give them an anonymous tip off?"

He smiled. "Saris, we're outlaws. They'd arrest us the minute we set foot in the city. Our job is to deal with the people the law can't touch. We catch them and provide enough evidence for an arrest."

"But we're still going to catch this merchant guy, right?"

"Of course. Fencing is also a crime."

"I'll tell the guys, then!"

This is how life normally went these days. Every now and then, something small came up, the law couldn't do anything about it, and he and his mercenaries would take care of it. If there was evidence of a crime, they'd just capture them and hand them over to the guards, which is what the plan for the merchant was.

Their plan was carried out without a hitch. A couple people took out each of the two guards, and a few people knocked the merchant unconscious and tied him up, throwing him in the back, and sending the cart filled with stolen goods back to the city.

While the guards and merchant were being taken care of, others had taken food and money out of the back of the cart in order to sustain themselves. This was their form of payment, and they never took anything else (though, they often took any rope the person had on them, as not being able to buy rope became a disadvantage when trying to capture criminals).

This is what every day was like for them. Find some criminal, catch them, and hope they had enough food or money to sustain them for a while. Though they were technically criminals for acting above the law, once a month an official caravan would be _conveniently_ abandoned on the road near their camp.

These were left by Raven's friend from the academy. He was of noble blood, and as such, had no issues getting through easily. Just before Raven dropped with several people now with him, he had offered him to leave with the rest. He refused, but was supportive of their cause. When he was promoted to commander, he began unofficially sending out unguarded caravans to be dropped off in a specific location, claiming that field units and elves came to him for support in their missions.

These peaceful times of catching runaway criminals didn't last long after that. Seris and I became engaged that same day, but then something else brought everything to an end. I woke up to the burning smell of smoke and ash. I ran to the entrance of the tent to see the entire forest lit ablaze, and Velder soldiers killing everyone in sight.

"Seris, listen to me. You need to get out here as fast as you can."

She hesitated. "But… but I-"

"Just run. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

She nodded her head nervously and ran out the back of the tent.

He muttered quietly to himself. "I'm sorry, Seris. I need you to survive. You're the only one who can fix this."

Moments later, several soldiers walked in and outside into the burning forest where he was then confronted with a familiar face.

"Owen?! What are you doing here?"

"My, my, Raven. You didn't _really_ think I was helping you, did you?"

"You bastard…"

"No, Raven. _You're_ the bastard. And to think, you _actually_ trusted me. A _noble_? Help a _bastard commoner_? Ha!"

"You know, I think this says something about you that you didn't know."

"And what might that be?"

"You're willing to use others as stepping stones just to gain power. Even if they were once your friends."

"Friends?" He let out a soft chuckle. "Don't make me laugh. You were a tool from the beginning. I build you up in the laws eyes, and set up a trap for you, making you top the most wanted boards. I just so happen to stumble across his little den while finding out where our missing supplies are going, capture him, and kill his accomplices. It's a perfect plan, and it worked. Think of the promotion I'll get from this."

"That just goes to show that you don't really care what happens to any of the people around you."

"You're right. Not even the girl I used to love. Bring her."

Two guards brought a familiar woman.

"Seris?! I told you to run!"

"Oh, you really thought she could get away on her own? Or maybe you thought we wouldn't touch her just because she's a noble?"

He sighed. "If you let her go, I'll do whatever you ask, with no resistance."

"Oh? Fallen in love, have we? Let me guess. You fell in love, turned her against her people, and planned to use her against us?" He drew his sword.

"That's not it at all! She came of her own will, and you know it!"

"Well, then I guess that makes her a traitor. And you know what we do to traitors."

"Raven…" She spoke softly. "It's going to be okay. Trust me. I- Ahhh!" Owen's sword pierced her heart, and she dropped to the ground.

"SARIS NOO!" He cried out.

"Oops. It seems that we nobles will do our duty to the kingdom even if it means killing each other."

"You… monster!"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. It _is_ a tragic happening that the only heir to an influential family, but in the end, she chose to fight me to the death, and lost."

"You won't get away with this."

"Oh, but I already have. Come to think of it, you chose to fight me as well." He raised his sword, but dropped it as a blade Raven had never seen before struck through Owen, and continued slicing through him, ultimately killing him.

Behind where Owen had once stood was a figure in full armor, presumably of steel. The odd thing was that there were no plates that would make movement possible in armor. A bleak, monotone voice called from it, and it seemed to drown out the sound of the fire and burning forest around them.

"You have violated the terms of the contract. You and your subordinates will now be executed." It then ran around, swiftly taking down all of the soldiers before returning to him. "Mission objectives updated. Secure the prototype."

I blacked out after that. When I woke up, I was already someone else. Some _thing_ else. So I came up with a plan to take revenge on the ones who had caused all of this at the root. First, I would take down my captors. Then, I would destroy Velder and kill every singe noble.


End file.
